St. Pauli are fighting desperately to avoid relegation, but now meet one of the strongest sides of the season, Leipzig, who have surprisingly lost their last two matches.
St. Pauli
St. Pauli are having a poor season and sit 16th in the standings, with only Mainz 05 and Heidenheim below them. They ended a run of nine consecutive defeats by unexpectedly collecting five points from their last three matches. However, the opposition were clearly not of the highest level: two relegation candidates (0:0 against Mainz 05 and 2:1 against Heidenheim) and 11th-placed Köln (1:1).
The hosts’ defence is struggling. Over 15 league matches they have conceded 26 goals and have kept a clean sheet only twice. Their attack is also underperforming, with just 13 goals scored – the worst record in the league.
Leipzig
Leipzig are firmly established in the top places: they are fourth and involved in the title race with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. The team followed up a 6:0 demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt with back-to-back 1:3 defeats against Union Berlin and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, but this match is a chance to respond.
This season the visitors have lost only to clubs from the top eight of the Bundesliga, taking points in all their other fixtures. They are productive in attack with 30 goals scored (the third-best figure in the league) and solid at the back with 19 conceded (also third in the league).
St. Pauli vs Leipzig Prediction
The gap in quality and current level of play is clear. Leipzig consistently win matches against teams from the bottom of the standings, while the hosts remain in crisis. We expect a comfortable away win.
