Preview:St Pauli vs Union Berlin - prediction, team news, lineups

St Pauli will be looking to end their seven-match winless run in the Bundesliga when they welcome Union Berlin to the Millerntor Stadium this Sunday evening.

Kiezkicker have not tasted a league victory since September, while Die Eisernen come into Sunday’s fixture on the back of a shock draw with Bayern Munich.

Match preview

When St Pauli kicked off the campaign with a four-match unbeaten run across all competitions, the signs were certainly promising for the Hamburg-based club.

However, since their 2-1 win over Augsburg in mid-September, St Pauli’s results have fallen off a cliff, with the team enduring seven straight Bundesliga defeats – five of them to nil.

The only array of sunshine during this storm has been a DFB Pokal victory over Hoffenheim last month, though the club has not come close to a league breakthrough since.

Just before the international break, St Pauli were beaten 2-1 away at Freiburg – a result which saw them slump into the bottom three, sitting just two points above bottom-of-the-table Heidenheim.

Head coach Alexander Blessin is under growing pressure, and he will be determined to make the most of the next five games before the start of the winter break.

Union Berlin pulled off a big shock before the international break as they became the first team this season to break Bayern Munich’s seemingly indomitable winning run.

Die Eisernen held the Bavarians to a 2-2 draw, though things could have been even better had Union prevented Harry Kane’s stoppage-time equaliser.

Nevertheless, Steffen Baumgart and his men have lost just one of their last five outings – a run which includes a bumper 3-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach and a victory over Armenia Bielefeld in the cup.

Union will now be looking to keep their momentum train going when they take on a St Pauli side which they have beaten in seven of their previous nine meetings.

St Pauli Bundesliga form:

L L L L L L

St Pauli form (all competitions):

L L L W L L

Union Berlin Bundesliga form:

D L W L D D

Union Berlin form (all competitions):

L W L W D D

Team News

St Pauli’s international players returned to the club unscathed this week, which will come as a boost for the struggling side.

According to Blessin, Hauke Wahl missed one training session but is now back and training normally.

Manos Saliakas and Adam Dzwigala have both been ruled out but should make their returns to the team next weekend.

There is also a question mark over Ricky-Jade Jones, who could make his first St Pauli appearance after returning from a shoulder injury.

Union Berlin, on the other hand, remain without injured forward Robert Skov, who has missed the last five matches.

Defender Josip Juranovic missed a large chunk of games earlier this season, though he marked his return against Bayern Munich when coming off the bench for the last 20 minutes.

St Pauli possible starting lineup:

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

Union Berlin possible starting lineup:

Ronnow; Doekhi, Querfeld, Leite; Trimmel, Khedira, Kemlein, Kohn; Ansah, Burke; Ilic

We say: St Pauli 1-1 Union Berlin

St Pauli have been stuck in the mud for the last two months, and their best chance of breaking that run is certainly at home.

Union Berlin have been in good form lately, but the international break does tend to throw things off a little bit. With that in mind, we are backing St Pauli to hit the restart button and get a draw.

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