Fortuna Duesseldorf take on Bochum in the Bundesliga relegation playoff first leg on Thursday riding a wave of momentum, unbeaten in the league since February. The second division side’s ‘Fortuna for Everyone’ campaign, a plan to make all tickets for certain home games free, grabbed headlines before the season. The two-time German Cup winners started by making tickets free for three home matches in 2023-24, while pledging to continue the plan if they reached the top division. Each of the three games were ‘sold out’, with fans filling Duesseldorf’s 52,000-capacity home ground — one of the venues for this summer’s Euros. Over the season, league crowds averaged more than 39,000. The home support made an impact on the pitch. Fortuna came from three goals down to beat rivals Kaiserslautern 4-3 in the first free-ticket game in October. Although Fortuna lost the second free-ticket game to eventual division champions St Pauli in January, their win in the third fixture against Eintracht Braunschweig in April put them on course for a third-placed finish and a shot at the top division.