Borussia Dortmund vs St Pauli – Match preview and team news

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The Football Faithful

·17 January 2026

Borussia Dortmund vs St Pauli – Match preview and team news

Borussia Dortmund will be looking to maintain their strong home record when they welcome struggling FC St. Pauli to Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.

Niko Kovac’s men are on a six-match unbeaten streak in all competitions and will certainly want to continue their momentum and chase league leader Bayern Munich, who are already ahead of them by 11 points.

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Borussia Dortmund vs. St. Pauli – Match preview and team news

Date: Saturday, 17th January.
Kick-off: 2:30pm BST.
Venue: Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund.

Borussia Dortmund team news

Niko Kovač has an almost fully fit squad to select from for this crucial Bundesliga clash. The Black and Yellows are in outstanding form both in terms of results and defensive performance, with Dortmund having now kept nine clean sheets in the Bundesliga this season.

Young centre-back Aaron Anselmino remains the only notable absentee, continuing his recovery from a muscle injury sustained in recent weeks, with the 20-year-old not expected to return until late January.

Vice-captain Nico Schlotterbeck, who has been in inspired form all season, is fit and available to anchor the defence alongside centre-back Waldemar Anton and either Niklas Süle or Emre Can, depending on Kovač’s selection.

In midfield, Jobe Bellingham continues to provide a crucial ball-winning presence with 51 tackles to his name this season, while Serhou Guirassy has finally rediscovered his goalscoring touch after an earlier drought, netting his first league goal since October in the comfortable 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen.

Julian Brandt, Maximilian Beier, and Fabio Silva remain available for selection in attack.

St Pauli team news

Alexander Blessin’s side faces an uphill task with a severely depleted squad as they travel to Dortmund.

The Hamburg club are dealing with a mounting injury crisis that has left them particularly vulnerable going into this fixture. Danel Sinani remains sidelined with a persistent calf injury and is not expected to return until early February.

Jackson Irvine is also unavailable due to a foot injury, with assistant coach Blessin suggesting that a second operation may be necessary within the next ten days or so.

Beyond those two, St. Pauli must also cope without Connor Metcalfe (knock), Ricky-Jade Jones (thigh injury), Simon Spari (ligament tear), David Nemeth (tendon injury), and most significantly, Andreas Hountondji, whose broken ankle will keep him sidelined until late April.

Form

Borussia Dortmund

Kovač’s side has embarked on an exceptional run of form, remaining unbeaten across their last ten Bundesliga matches.

heir latest outing saw a 3-0 victory at home against Werder Bremen on Tuesday evening, with goals from captain Nico Schlotterbeck (11′), Marcel Sabitzer (76′), and Serhou Guirassy (83′).

This result maintains Dortmund’s commanding position at Signal Iduna Park, where they have now achieved a club record of six clean sheets in their first eight home games of a season – a remarkable defensive achievement under Kovač’s stewardship.

The hosts sit comfortably in second place with 36 points from 17 games, having lost just one of their last 23 league matches, a loss that came way back in October against Bayern Munich.

St Pauli

The Kiezkickers’ recent fortunes have been dramatically different, with Alexander Blessin’s men struggling at both ends of the pitch. A disappointing 2-1 defeat away at Wolfsburg on Wednesday night represents their tenth loss in their last 13 league matches, leaving them languishing in 17th place with just 12 points – firmly in the relegation zone.