Preview: St Pauli vs Augsburg - prediction, team news, lineups

St Pauli will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season when they welcome Augsburg to the Millerntor Stadion this Sunday afternoon.

Kiezkicker have picked up four points from their opening two games, while Fuggerstadter came within one goal of frustrating Bayern Munich just before the international break.

Match preview

Avoiding relegation was the main goal for St Pauli last season, and it was a mission very much accomplished as the club finished seven points clear of the automatic demotion spots.

Survival is one thing, but St Pauli will be looking to push on this season and solidify their status as a Bundesliga side – something they have certainly made a positive start with.

Alexander Blessin and his men produced a sensational second-half performance against Borussia Dortmund as they turned a 3-1 deficit into a 3-3 draw on the opening weekend of the campaign.

Just a few days later, the club travelled to the Volksparkstadion and picked up a historic 2-0 win over Hamburg SV in one of the biggest derbies in German football.

St Pauli will be hoping that the international break has not scuppered their hard-earned momentum as they prepare to host a tricky Augsburg side.

Speaking of Fuggerstadter, the club are still in the early days of a new era under newbie manager, Sandro Wagner. The former Bayern Munich striker took over the managerial position in May, looking to build on Augsburg’s 12th placed finish last season.

In truth, finishing 12th came as a major disappointment for the club; Augsburg were eighth going into the final two months of the season, though a horrific run of results saw them tumble down the standings.

The side won just one of their last eight matches and suffered five defeats – a run which decimated their hopes of European football.

Nevertheless, the new season under Wagner has got off to a promising start, as Augsburg picked up a 3-1 win away at Freiburg on the opening weekend of the season before losing 3-2 against defending champions Bayern a week later.

St Pauli Bundesliga form:

D W

St Pauli form (all competitions):

W D W

Augsburg Bundesliga form:

W L

Augsburg form (all competitions):

W W L

Team News

Ricky-Jade Jones, who moved from Peterborough United to St Pauli over the summer, remains on the sidelines with a shoulder injury and is yet to play a minute of competitive football for his new side.

David Nemeth is also on the injury list, with the defender still carrying a groin injury. The 24-year-old’s sole appearance this season came in the DFB Pokal against Norderstedt.

Augsburg, on the other hand, made two late moves on transfer deadline day, bringing in Ismaal Gharbi from Braga and Fabian Rieder from Rennes; both men are available for selection.

The visitors will be without Dimitrios Giannoulis, who is struggling with a thigh injury, while Anton Kade is also a doubt due to an ankle issue, though he was on the bench for Germany Under-21s during the international break.

St Pauli possible starting lineup: Vasilj; Wahl, Smith, Dzwigala; Pyrka, Sands, Fujita, Oppie; Sinani; Hountondji, Pereira Lage

Augsburg possible starting lineup: Dahmen; Matsima, Gouweleeuw, Zesiger; Jakic; Wolf, Rieder, Massengo, Pedersen; Tietz, Saad

We say: St Pauli 1-1 Augsburg

St Pauli have made a cracking start to their Bundesliga campaign, but getting a win against Augsburg will not be easy.

The visitors caused Bayern Munich serious problems before the international break, and we are backing them to come away from Hamburg with at least a point.

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