Arminia Bielefeld - FC St. Pauli

Bielefeld to claim back-to-back wins

TEAM NEWS

Bielefeld’s Christopher Nothe will be out with a knee problem while Baboucarr Gaye is set to miss this game with a finger injury.

St. Pauli will be without the long-term injured Ryo Miyaichi, Marc Hornschuh and Philipp Ziereis as well as the suspended Bernd Nehrig and Svend Brodersen.

Bielefeld

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Christopher Nothe (knee), Baboucarr Gaye (finger)

St. Pauli

Suspended: Bernd Nehrig, Svend Brodersen

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Ryo Miyaichi (knee), Philipp Ziereis (muscle), Marc Hornschuh (back)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: HOME WIN

Having secured five points in the last three matches, Bielefeld remain unbeaten since the beginning of November. They beat bottom side Kaiserslautern in a narrow game 2-0 last time out, and it was a deserved result against harmless opponents despite the fact they had to be patient when it came to getting on the scoreboard. However, this game could be different as the team will expect to be able to produce counter-attacks with much more space available.

St. Pauli suffered a crushing 4-0 loss away at Greuther Furth in their most recent match, in what was their second defeat by that scoreline this season. That result left the Hamburg side with just four draws and two defeats in six 2. Bundesliga games. Their top scorer is Christopher Buchtmann and he has not had the best time lately either. The team now sit in eighth position in the table and have a poor -7 goal difference. They have had more success on their travels this season and this will be a game where they will be looking to secure away win number five.

Bielefeld should take advantage in front of their own fans as they are in better form – I predict a home win.

SECOND PREDICTION: TOTAL GOALS – TWO 

Meetings between these teams don’t tend to feature many goals, with just two of the last eight games across all competitions ending with more than two. In fact, their last five encounters average 1.80 in league action. I expect another low-scoring match here with exactly two goals scored.

HEAD TO HEAD

Bielefeld’s last three home matches against St. Pauli in the league have all ended level, with one of them finishing goalless.