FC St. Pauli vs. RB Leipzig preview: Leipzig aim to reclaim third spot with maiden win at old nemesis | OneFootball

St. Pauli entertain RB Leipzig in one of the two rescheduled fixtures from matchday 16 on Tuesday night. The rivalry between the two clubs started when Leipzig used to face hostile atmospheres in their two-year spell in the 2. Bundesliga.

FC St. Pauli

After starting the season with seven points from the first three games, St. Pauli have only managed to add six to their tally in the last 15 matchdays. Their only win in this abysmal run came at home against the only team they currently lead in the standings, Heidenheim.

However, since Martijn Kaars’ brace helped them to only the second home win of the season, they held Mainz and derby rivals Hamburg to goalless draws. Their defeats away at Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund also came after they conceded late goals.

A win in the rescheduled fixture would be enough to see them climb to the relegation/promotion playoff spot. Including two wins in their joint spell in 2. Bundesliga, St. Pauli are unbeaten at the Millerntor against RB Leipzig.

Team News

Adam Dźwigała is suspended for this duel since his early yellow card in the derby was his fifth of the season. Japanese international Tomoya Ando could make his starting debut after joining from J1 League earlier this month.

Fellow new signing Mathias Rasmussen, who has left Champions League participants Union SG to reunite with Alexander Blessin at St. Pauli, could also make his first Bundesliga appearance. Meanwhile, Ricky-Jade Jones could start up front in place of out-of-form Kaars.

RB Leipzig

However, Die Roten Bullen beat St. Pauli in both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal last season. Their fixture at Millerntor ended goalless, while Ole Werner’s Werder Bremen also didn’t concede a goal in their two games against the then-newly-promoted side.

Although the result was flattering for Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig lost 5-1 to the Rekordmeister on matchday 18. They scored five without reply in total in their other games since the turn of the year against Freiburg and Heidenheim.

Benjamin Henrichs finally made his first appearance of the season at Voith-Arena, while the sought-after Yan Diomande registered his first goal contributions of 2026 with a couple of assists. A win on Tuesday would send them back to third place as they’re now trailing Stuttgart and Hoffenheim, who themselves have a game in hand, by a single point.

Team News

El Chadaille Bitshiabu will continue to partner Willi Orbán at the heart of Leipzig’s defense as Werner set the return date for Castello Lukeba to be for the weekend’s game against Mainz.

Werner stressed the lack of center-back options at the club, which could be solved with the imminent signing of Abdoul Koné from Ligue 2 club Stade de Reims. Midfielders Assan Ouédraogo and Johan Bakayoko are also still on the sidelines with serious injuries.

Predicted Lineups

St. Pauli: Vasilj; Ando, Wahl, Mets; Pyrka, Sands, Smith ©, Oppie; Fujita, Pereira Lage; Jones

Leipzig: Gulacsi; Baku, Orban, Bitshiabu, Raum ©; Seiwald; Schlager, Baumgartner; Diomande, Romulo, Nusa