Preview:St Pauli vs Borussia Monchengladbach - prediction, team news, lineups

Two of the most out-of-form teams in the Bundesliga meet this Saturday afternoon as St Pauli welcome Borussia Monchengladbach to the Millerntor Stadion.

The Kiezkickers are in the midst of a staggering five-match losing run in the league, while Die Fohlen remain rooted to the bottom of the table and remain the only team in the competition yet to pick up a victory.

Match preview

Both these clubs had the opportunity to turn their attention away from their Bundesliga woes and pick up a couple of confidence boosting DFB-Pokal victories on Tuesday night.

St Pauli took Hoffenheim to a penalty shootout and came out victorious in front of their home fans – a sweet taste of revenge for the Kiezkickers, considering they lost 3-0 to the same opponent just a couple of weeks ago.

The victory will have brought much relief for manager Alexander Blessin, who endured a run of five straight Bundesliga defeats leading up to that cup clash, four of them to nil.

St Pauli have not tasted a league win since early September, when they picked up a 2-1 success over Augsburg at home; that was also the last time Blessin’s men scored more than one goal in a Bundesliga fixture.

The Kiezkickers will now be hoping to end their ongoing league woes when they take on a Borussia Monchengladbach side which they have not beaten in a competitive fixture since 2011.

Speaking of Die Fohlen, Eugen Polanski’s men picked up a 3-1 victory over Karlsruher in the cup on Tuesday, marking their first competitive win since mid-August.

Gladbach are still winless in the Bundesliga, accumulating just three points from their opening eight matches in the competition – boasting the second-worst defensive record along the way.

Taking into account last season’s results, Gladbach are currently on a 15-match winless streak in the Bundesliga – a concerning stat, considering no other club across Europe’s top five major leagues has played as many consecutive league games without tasting victory.

Over a month ago, Polanski’s men were beaten 6-4 by Eintracht Frankfurt in one of the wildest games the competition has ever produced, and the team did initially bounce back by getting a point against Freiburg just days later.

However, defeats to Union Berlin and Bayern Munich have since followed, with Gladbach shipping three goals in each of those encounters.

St Pauli Bundesliga form:

W L L L L L

St Pauli form (all competitions):

L L L L L W

Borussia Monchengladbach Bundesliga form:

L D L D L L

Borussia Monchengladbach form (all competitions):

D L D L L W

Team News

St Pauli head into the fixture without David Nemeth, with the defender still recovering from his groin injury.

The 24-year-old has not featured since the first competitive match of the season in mid-August, and he is expected to miss another month of action before returning to training.

Midfielder Arkadiusz Pyrka featured in the cup win over Hoffenheim on Tuesday, but some reports have suggested the 23-year-old is struggling with a cold.

Frenchman Mathias Pereira Lage scored his first goal for St Pauli in that fixture, and the striker is expected to lead the attack this weekend.

Borussia Monchengladbach will be without South Korea international Jens Castrop, who will be serving his suspension after being sent off in last weekend’s clash against Bayern Munich.

Defender Fabio Cristian Chiarodia remains on the sidelines with a thigh problem, while Robin Hack and Tim Kleindienst are both out with knee injuries.

Midfielder Nathan Ngoumou is also out of action as the 25-year-old continues to recover from his Achilles tendon injury – one which he has carried since April.

St Pauli possible starting lineup:

Vasilj; Wahl, Smith, Mets; Saliakas, Sands, Fujita, Oppie; Sinani; Kaars, Pereira Lage

Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:

Nicolas; Sander, Elvedi, Diks; Honorat, Reitz, Engelhardt, Netz; Machino, Stoger; Tabakovic

We say: St Pauli 1-1 Borussia Monchengladbach

Both teams are looking to break their losing runs in the Bundesliga, meaning we could be in for a very tense affair at the Millerntor Stadion.

Last Tuesday, both teams released their goalscoring handbrakes, and we are expecting both to get on the scoresheet on Saturday. With regard to the result, we are leaning towards a draw.

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