St. Pauli vs Augsburg preview: Hosts aim to extend unbeaten start | OneFootball

St. Pauli

After an impressive 3-3 comeback draw with Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 1, St. Pauli claimed bragging rights over bitter local rivals Hamburger SV with a 2-0 win just before the international break, moving up to fifth in the Bundesliga after two games.

Alexander Blessin and his team will look to extend their unbeaten start on Sunday – and will be eager to secure a first-ever top-flight victory over visitors Augsburg.

The Hamburg-based side lost 3-1 away to Augsburg last season, before being denied three points at the Millerntor-Stadion in the reverse fixture by a late equaliser.

“We go into our second home game with a good feeling. We want to bring exactly the same level of intensity to the pitch as in the first two games,” said head coach Alexander Blessin at his pre-match press conference.

“We had a few problems in the first game last season and we’ve learned from that. You can see a lot of how we want to approach them from the second game here at the Millerntor.”

Team News

St. Pauli will certainly be without Ricky-Jade Jones (shoulder) and David Nemeth (groin), while Abdoulie Ceesay (foot) remains a doubt.

Captain Jackson Irvine is finally back in the squad after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

“We’re absolutely delighted,” said head coach Alexander Blessin of Irvine’s comeback, while stressing that the captain is not yet ready to start.

“We couldn’t wait, so it’s fantastic to have him back on board. He’s a key figure for the team, which is one reason we took him to the training camp. He’ll be in the squad, but after four months out he still needs a bit more time.”

Predicted lineup: Vasilj – Wahl, Smith (c), Dźwigała – Pyrka, Sands, Fujita, Oppie – Sinani – Hountondji, Pereira Lage.

Augsburg

Sandro Wagner’s Augsburg side could hardly have asked for a better start to the season, claiming a surprising 3-1 away win at Freiburg after being clinical in front of goal.

They then fell to Bayern Munich in a game where they showed great character, coming back from 0-3 to 2-3 and giving the German champions a scare in the second half.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Wagner said the international break provided a “small reset” and “did everyone good” after an intense start to the campaign.

Now, Augsburg will be determined to return to winning ways and are looking forward to experiencing the unique atmosphere at the Millerntor-Stadion.

“We can’t wait to play at St. Pauli on Sunday – it’s an absolute highlight for us. We’re looking forward to the atmosphere at the Millerntor and hope it’s really loud,” Wagner said ahead of the game.

The match will also mark a special occasion for Elias Saad, who moved from St. Pauli to Augsburg over the summer.

“Players who did well for us are welcomed back accordingly,” said St. Pauli coach Alexander Blessin on Saad’s return to the Millerntor-Stadion.

“I expect him to be applauded, not booed. I’m looking forward to seeing him, and I’m happy he scored for Tunisia and helped them qualify for the World Cup. There are no hard feelings – we’re looking forward to the matchup with him.”

Team News

Samuel Essende is suspended for Augsburg, while new signing Anton Kade is sidelined with an ankle injury. Regular starters Keven Schlotterbeck (ankle) and Dimitrios Giannoulis (thigh) will also miss out.

Late decisions will be made on the availability of Marius Wolf (knee), Alexis Claude-Maurice (ankle), Robin Fellhauer (concussion) and Mert Kömür (toe), all of whom returned to training this week.

Predicted lineup: Dahmen – Matsima, Gouweleeuw (c), Zesiger – Wolf, Jakic, Massengo, Fellhauer – Rieder, Saad  – Kömür.