Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Bundesliga match.
Bayer Leverkusen's unremarkable performance in their cup match against Bayern Munich (1:0) did not prevent the current German champions from overcoming their main rivals. However, the injuries to key forwards Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick present a challenge for the team. Without them, Bayer Leverkusen may face difficulties in attack even against St. Pauli.
Bayer Leverkusen
In the past week, Bayer Leverkusen have secured two clean-sheet victories in three matches, and against Union Berlin (2:1) they allowed just 0.62 xGA. In the Cup match against Bayern, after Manuel Neuer's dismissal, the team from Leverkusen failed to take the initiative, appearing lacklustre while playing with a numerical advantage. It seems that with two injured strikers, Xabi Alonso will deploy Florian Wirtz in a false nine role, while Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo will take on the winger positions — a setup they used in Munich.
St. Pauli
In their 12 league matches, St. Pauli have seen the "Both Teams to Score — No" bet come off nine times. They are forced to play on the counter-attack, due to the limited quality of players in their squad. St. Pauli have scored only 10 goals, the lowest tally in the Bundesliga, alongside Bochum. At home against Holstein Kiel (3:1), they were lifted by the performance of Johannes Eggestein (1+2), but in Leverkusen, the Hamburg team are expected to sit back in deep defence.
Bayer Leverkusen vs St. Pauli Prediction
An injury-hit Bayer Leverkusen will have to exert significant effort to break through St. Pauli’s defence. It is likely that in this game involving St. Pauli, “Both Teams to Score – No” will once again be the outcome.
