Preview: St Pauli vs Bayern Munich - prediction, team news, lineups

Saturday night action in the Bundesliga comes from the Millerntor Stadium in Hamburg as relegation-threatened St Pauli take on champions-in-waiting Bayern Munich.

The Boys in Brown are currently in the relegation playoff spot and find themselves two points from safety, while the Bavarians are on cloud nine after extending their unbeaten run to 14 games with an impressive victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Match preview

The alarm bells are ringing for St Pauli as the club’s two-year stint in the Bundesliga is at serious risk of coming to an end.

Alexander Blessin’s men are certainly not throwing in the towel, which is evidenced by the fact they have picked up 44% of their entire Bundesliga points haul in the last eight games.

Since February, Kiezkicker picked up wins over top-four contenders Stuttgart and Hoffenheim, while also downing fellow strugglers Werder Bremen.

That win streak has dried up in recent weeks, with St Pauli enduring a four-match winless run, though they will take a lot of encouragement from their home form, which consists of one defeat from seven games.

Facing a lofty opponent is unlikely to faze the hosts considering they are unbeaten at home against teams starting matchdays in the top four.

On top of that, St Pauli can expect to meet a much-changed Bayern Munich side as the Bavarians look to rest key players ahead of their return Champions League quarter-final leg with Real Madrid.

Speaking of Vincent Kompany’s side, Bayern are well on their way to their 35th Bundesliga title, with the team currently enjoying a nine-point lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund.

Bayern have produced an extraordinary campaign so far, losing just one league game and scoring 100 Bundesliga goals in 28 matches.

The Bavarians are fully expected to break their Bundesliga record of 101 goals from the 1971-72 campaign, considering they have scored three or more goals in all eight of their fixtures against teams from the bottom six.

Kompany’s men will also take confidence from their 13-match unbeaten run away from home - a run that started back in November and continued last Tuesday night in Madrid.

Despite having one eye on the return leg with the La Liga giants in the Champions League, Bayern will be determined to continue their momentum against St Pauli - a side they already beat 3-1 earlier this season.

St Pauli Bundesliga form:

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Bayern Munich Bundesliga form:

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Bayern Munich form (all competitions):

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Team News

St Pauli will be without their captain Jackson Irvine, who picked up a red card in the closing minutes of last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Union Berlin.

England’s Ricky-Jade Jones remains on the sidelines with an ankle injury, and he is not expected to make a return this season.

Greek defender Manolis Saliakas will also remain on the sidelines as he continues to nurse his thigh injury.

James Sands will be another big absentee, while Swedish midfielder Eric Smith is a doubt after missing the trip to Berlin.

The only major injury problem for Bayern Munich concerns goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, who is still nursing a muscle problem.

Teenager Lennart Karl is expected to return to the starting XI following his excellent performance against Freiburg - one which saw him score and assist in a 3-2 win away at Freiburg.

Harry Kane, who is currently on 31 goals in the Bundesliga, is expected to be rested for the return clash with Real Madrid.

With six games remaining, the Englishman is running out of time to better Robert Lewandowski’s all-time record of 41 goals in a single Bundesliga season.

St Pauli possible starting lineup:

Vasilj; Wahl, Ando, Mets; Pyrka, Fujita, Rasmussen, Ritzka; Sinani, Pereira Lage; Hountondji

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:

Neuer; Laimer, Kim, Ito, Davies; Goretzka, Bischof; Karl, Musiala, Gnabry; Jackson

We say: St Pauli 1-3 Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich have scored three or more goals in eight of their last 10 matches across all competitions – a run we expect to continue against an outmatched St Pauli side.

While the hosts have shown a lot of heart in recent weeks, the gulf in quality is hard to ignore. With that in mind, we are backing the visitors to take all three points back to Bavaria.

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