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

There is a juicy battle brewing at the bottom of the Bundesliga as St Pauli welcome Heidenheim to the Millerntor-Stadion this Saturday afternoon.

Making up two-thirds of the bottom three, both these clubs will be desperate for points in their penultimate match of 2025.

Match preview

Last weekend marked a huge moment for St Pauli as the team ended their nine-match losing run in the Bundesliga, scoring a 94th-minute equaliser away against FC Koln.

On paper, that was just a point, but in reality, that could be the catalyst which Alexander Blessin and his men have been waiting for.

The manager remains under pressure, but there does appear to be a light at the end of the tunnel, with St Pauli further boosting their confidence with a recent cup victory over Borussia Monchengladbach.

Both those positive results have come away from home, and the Neighbourhood Kickers will now be looking to give their home fans something to shout about.

© Imago / HMB-Media

Heidenheim’s incredible revival continued last weekend as the team picked up a 2-1 victory over high-flying Freiburg in front of their home fans.

A few days earlier, Frank Schmidt and his men ended their six-match winless Bundesliga run by picking up a shock 2-1 success against Union Berlin.

Heidenheim seemed like Bundesliga’s hopeless basket case just a few weeks ago, though they are now on the edge of escaping the bottom three with a win on Saturday.

Five of the previous seven head-to-head meetings between St Pauli and Heidenheim have seen the away team win, which is certainly a good sign for Schmidt.

St Pauli Bundesliga form:

L L L L L D

St Pauli form (all competitions):

L L L L W D 

Heidenheim Bundesliga form:

L D L L W W 

Heidenheim form (all competitions):

L D L L W W 

Team News

© Imago

St Pauli head into the weekend without defender David Nemeth, who has missed the entire Bundesliga season with a groin injury.

Forward Andreas Hountondji is also on the absentee list after missing his last two games with a muscle injury.

Heidenheim have been operating without young goalkeeper Frank Feller throughout this entire season due to his knee injury.

Defender Leart Paqarada has only made one appearance during the 2025-26 campaign, and his second outing will not come this weekend as the 31-year-old recovers from his knee problems.

Forward Budu Zivzivadze has only scored one goal this season, but considering he was absent for the last two games, the 31-year-old is unlikely to build his tally on Saturday.

St Pauli possible starting lineup:

Vasilj; Wahl, Smith, Mets; Pyrka, Sands, Fujita, Irvine, Oppie; Kaars, Pereira Lage

Heidenheim possible starting lineup:

Ramaj; Busch, Mainka, Gimber, Fohrenbach; Schoppner, Niehues, Dorsch; Ibrahimovic, Pieringer, Honsak 

We say: St Pauli 1-2 Heidenheim

Both clubs have enjoyed a recent revival, which means we should be in for an entertaining clash this Saturday afternoon.

In terms of predictions, all stats point towards Heidenheim, who are looking to win their third straight Bundesliga game.

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