Preview: Eintracht Norderstedt vs St Pauli - prediction, team news, lineups

In the first round of the DFB-Pokal, fourth-tier side Eintracht Norderstedt will hope to beat Bundesliga opponents St Pauli on Saturday at Millerntor-Stadion.

St Pauli managed to secure safety in 2024-25 but are yet to begin their 2025-26 season unlike Norderstedt, who are 10th in the West division of the Regionalliga with three points after three league outings.

Match preview

Norderstedt beat Phonix Lubeck 2-0 on August 9, keeping their first clean sheet in seven competitive matches.

The fourth-tier side will be playing at St Pauli's stadium on the weekend, and their record away from their home ground is positive given they have lost two and won four of their six most recent matches on opposition turf.

Head coach Elard Ostermann's side have scored in each of their past 18 games excluding friendlies, netting five times in their opening three matches of 2025-26.

Norderstedt have competed in the DFB-Pokal four times in their history, though they have never advanced past the first round, with the club losing 4-0 against Hannover 96 in the 2021-22 season.

Ostermann has only guided the team to one victory in his last five competitive fixtures in charge, overseeing three defeats and one draw.

St Pauli were promoted to the Bundesliga in the 2023-24 season, and boss Alexander Blessin helped his side collect 32 points last term, which was enough to secure a 14th-placed finish, two places and three points above the division's relegation playoff spot.

Blessin's team only scored 28 goals in the top flight - the worst offensive return of any team - but they boasted the league's second-best defensive record having conceded on just 41 occasions.

Kiezkicker have twice reached the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal in their past four campaigns, but they did lose in the second round against semi-finalists RB Leipzig in 2024-25.

St Pauli's performances in pre-season have been exceptional considering they have triumphed in five of their seven friendlies, losing just once and avoiding defeat in their most recent five.

The team's showings at Millerntor-Stadion were poor given they only won one of their last eight competitive outings at the stadium, being beaten four times, including in their past two.

Eintracht Norderstedt form (all competitions):

St Pauli friendly form:

Team News

Shot-stopper Lars-Oliver Huxsohl played last time out for Eintracht Norderstedt, and he may be chosen behind defenders Fabian Grau, Andre Wallenborn and Dane Kummerfeld.

Centre-forward Ohene Kohl will hope that midfielders Jonas Behounek and Philipp Koch can provide him the platform from which to excel.

As for St Pauli, they will almost certainly field centre-backs Hauke Wahl, Eric Smith and David Nemeth given the trio were so key to the club's defensive displays in 2024-25.

Blessin often utilised a double pivot last season, and if he deploys a duo again on Saturday, James Sands and Joel Chima Fujita would be the most natural candidates to play in the middle of the pitch.

Morgan Guilavogui will likely feature up front flanked by wingers Oladapo Afolayan and Mathias Pereira Lage.

Eintracht Norderstedt possible starting lineup:

Huxsohl; Grau, Wallenborn, Kummerfeld; Appiah, Behounek, Koch, Bera; Brendel, Kohl, Kufrin

St Pauli possible starting lineup:

Vasilj; Wahl, Smith, Nemeth; Pyrka, Sands, Fujita, Oppie; Afolayan, Lage; Guilavogui

We say: Eintracht Norderstedt 0-2 St Pauli

With three divisions separating the two sides, it would be surprising if Eintracht Norderstedt emerged as victors considering there is a gulf in quality between the two squads.

St Pauli have retained many of the key players that helped them stay in the top flight, and their defensive nous should help them keep a clean sheet in the DFB-Pokal on Saturday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.