Preview: St Pauli vs Werder Bremen - prediction, team news, lineups

The battle for Bundesliga survival is getting heated, and things are set to get a lot more tense at the Millerntor-Stadion this Sunday as St Pauli host Werder Bremen.

Both teams currently occupy the bottom three, though a victory in this weekend’s North Derby could go a long way in the race against the drop.

Match preview

St Pauli gave themselves a major lifeline by hanging on to a 2-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart a fortnight ago - just their fourth Bundesliga win of the season.

Alexander Blessin’s side failed to back that result up against a red-hot Bayer Leverkusen side last weekend, facing a 4-0 thumping away at the BayArena.

As things stand, the situation does seem rather bleak for the Neighbourhood Kickers, who enter this latest matchday sitting three points from safety.

Time is running out for St Pauli to turn their situation around, though one positive ahead of Sunday’s fixture is their improving record at home.

Blessin’s men are unbeaten in four straight matches at the Millerntor - a run which includes a couple of victories over Stuttgart and Heidenheim.

Werder Bremen are placed one spot above their opponents in the standings, though that is perhaps the only positive ahead of Sunday’s crunch game.

The crisis alarm is sounding at the club after Bremen lost four of their previous five Bundesliga outings, scoring just once during that barren run. In fact, the River Islanders have failed to score in seven of their last nine competitive matches.

New head coach Daniel Thioune was not a popular choice with the fans considering his links with arch-rivals Hamburger SV, and his popularity did not improve in his first two outings.

Defeats to Freiburg and Bayern Munich left Bremen 16th in the standings, just one point from safety and two above upcoming opponents St Pauli.

Another huge issue for Bremen will be overcoming their dreadful run on the road, which currently consists of three straight defeats and no goals in four.

St Pauli Bundesliga form:

L D D L W L

St Pauli form (all competitions):

D D L L W L

Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:

D L L D L L

Werder Bremen form (all competitions):

D L L D L L

Team News

There is good news on the injury front for St Pauli after David Nemeth completed his first team training session since his adductor surgery last September.

Connor Metcalfe, Mathias Pereira Lage, Eric Smith and Hauke Wahl are also on the mend, with the latter two expected to play their part on Sunday.

In terms of absentees, Andreas Hountondji is still struggling with an ankle injury, while Ricky-Jade Jones is expected to be out for the remainder of the season.

When it comes to Werder Bremen, superstar signing Samuel Mbangula is expected to remain on the bench following a poor run of form.

Expectations are high on the club’s second most expensive signing ever, though the 22-year-old will have to earn the trust of new head coach Thioune.

On loan striker Victor Boniface remains on the sidelines with a knee problem, while Amos Pieper and Mitchell Weiser are also recovering from that same injury.

Defenders Maximilian Wober and Karim Coulibaly are also on the absentee list with thigh issues.

St Pauli possible starting lineup:

Vasilj; Ando, Smith, Mets; Saliakas, Sands, Irvine, Pyrka; Sinani, Fujita; Kaars

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Backhaus; Sugawara, Stark, Friedl, Agu; Stage, Lynen, Puertas; Njinmah, Topp, Schmid

We say: St Pauli 1-0 Werder Bremen

Last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Leverkusen was undoubtedly painful for St Pauli, though we cannot simply dismiss their improving home form.

With Werder Bremen struggling to find the back of the net, we are backing St Pauli to make the most of home advantage and bag a crucial win in the battle against relegation.

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