FC St. Pauli - SV Sandhausen

Hosts to claim victory on Sunday

TEAM NEWS

St. Pauli’s Ryo Miyaichi, Marc Hornschuh, Waldemar Sobota, Clemens Schoppenhauer, Svend Brodersen, Bernd Nehrig and Christopher Buchtmann are still absent but are all working on their comebacks.

Sandhausen will be without Philipp Klingmann, Tim Kister, Andrew Wooten and Ken Gibson who are all out due to injury concerns.

St. Pauli

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Ryo Miyaichi (knee), Marc Hornschuh (back), Christopher Buchtmann (pubis), Waldemar Sobota (heel), Clemens Schoppenhauer (shoulder), Svend Brodersen (unspecified), Bernd Nehrig (calf)

Sandhausen

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Philipp Klingmann (head), Andrew Wooten (pulled muscle), Ken Gibson (calf), Tim Kister (broken foot),

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: HOME WIN

St. Pauli failed to get the better of rock-bottom and 10-man Kaiserslautern at the Betzenberg before the international break in an eventual 1-1 draw. The team have now drawn their last two in the 2. Bundesliga after a scoreless encounter with Braunschweig the week beforehand. St. Pauli’s last wins arrived late February when they beat Ingolstadt 1-0 on the road and third-placed Holstein Kiel 3-2 at home. St. Pauli have won nine, drawn nine and lost nine of their 27 fixtures in the 2. Bundesliga.

Sandhausen let a 2-0 lead slip to lose 3-2 at home to Bochum last weekend. That was their first home loss in the 2. Bundesliga since falling to a 2-1 defeat against Heidenheim at Hardtwald Stadium at the end of November. Away from home, they have won only twice and lost seven times in their last 11 games. As a result, Kenan Kocak’s men have lost contact to the top and they go into this one level on points with St. Pauli.

After picking up tow solitary points from their last three, St. Pauli will be eager to get back to winning ways on Sunday. The Hamburg team have won two of their past five at home, and I think they will come out on top in this one.

SECOND PREDICTION: FIRST HALF HAD – DRAW 

St. Pauli have drawn two of their last three at home, with both being goalless at half time. Have a punt on this one to be all square at the break, too.

HEAD TO HEAD

St. Pauli have won only one of their last six league meetings with Sandhausen. However, they have won two, drawn two and lost one at home against these opponents.