St. Pauli (home)
- St. Pauli have shown some signs of being a more solid and resilient team since Alexander Blessin took over as coach.
- Blessin’s tactical tweaks, which have included setting the team up in a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 shape to block the central areas and allow St. Pauli to counter attack, have been working of late, with FCSP winning their last two Bundesliga games.
- A 2-1 home win over Werder Bremen and a 1-0 win at Hoffenheim have lifted the Kiez-Kicker’s confidence levels, while Blessin’s decision to deploy Danel Sinani in a more advanced role has been an inspired choice.
- The Macedonian attacker has scored two of St. Pauli’s last six goals and his pace, guile and general ability to find space have given FCSP a different edge in their final third.
- Andreas Hountondji is the main striker and has four goals in 12 Bundesliga appearances this term, but Sinani’s contribution will be key on Sunday.
- St. Pauli’s home form has been better than average this term, with four wins, three draws and four defeats from 11 games played.
- They have conceded 18 goals at Millerntor, so the visitors should get plenty of opportunities to register on Sunday.
Eintracht Frankfurt (away)
- Albert Riera has made an excellent start to his Frankfurt career, and his preference for a more proactive 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 approach is giving the Eagles much more firepower than they were producing earlier in the campaign.
- Frankfurt’s last three games have seen them win 2 and lose 1, beat Moenchengladbach 3-0 and lose 3-2 at Bayern Munich.
- Jonathan Burkardt is their most dangerous player, netting nine goals in 12 Bundesliga games this season, while they have hit the net 26 times in 12 away fixtures.
- Eintracht Frankfurt are 7th in the Bundesliga table on 34 points from 24 games, while St. Pauli are 15th on 23 points from 24 games.
Key Players
- The Macedonian attacker has scored two of St. Pauli’s last six goals and his pace, guile and general ability to find space have given FCSP a different edge in their final third.
- Andreas Hountondji is the main striker and has four goals in 12 Bundesliga appearances this term, but Sinani’s contribution will be key on Sunday.
- Jonathan Burkardt is their most dangerous player, netting nine goals in 12 Bundesliga games this season, while they have hit the net 26 times in 12 away fixtures.
Betting Insights
With so much at stake for both sides - St. Pauli’s survival and Frankfurt’s European qualification, we’re expecting a high-scoring game with both teams to score and over 2.5 goals looking good bets.
Prediction
However, we’re siding with the visitors to edge it and take the points at 2.6 .
