St. Pauli vs. Eintracht Frankfurt preview: Hosts looking to add to run of upsets | OneFootball

FC St. Pauli

Earlier this season, St. Pauli were seemingly destined for relegation. A quick start masked a horrible 17-game stretch where the club won only one match, a 2-1 win over last-placed Heidenheim. With a brutal stretch coming up, it didn't seem likely that anything would change in February.

Remarkably, Alexander Blessin's side came alive against one of the best sides in the Bundesliga. A 2-1 win over VfB Stuttgart snapped St. Pauli's winless run, before a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.

However, St. Pauli recovered to pick up crucial wins, first against relegation rivals Werder Bremen and then against an in-form TSG Hoffenheim side. The latter was a 1-0 win, with goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj making a remarkable eleven saves.

Vasilj and St. Pauli's strong defense will be crucial against Frankfurt's attack. Only four teams have as many or more Bundesliga goals than Frankfurt's 48, although two of them — Hoffenheim and Stuttgart — fell to Blessin's side last month.

Team News:

Tomoya Ando and Joel Chima Fujita are available despite picking up injuries in late February. Mathias Rasmussen and Karol Mets remain absent with injuries, as is Andreas Hountondji, who is recovering but has not played since late December.

Ricky-Jade Jones and David Nemeth remain sidelined with long-term injuries.

Predicted Lineup: Vasilj, Smith, Wahl, Ritzka, Saliakas, Sands, Irvine, Pyrka, Fujita, Lage, Sinani

Eintracht Frankfurt

Albert Riera has completely turned Eintracht Frankfurt's season around. Die Adler were on a nine-game winless streak before Riera's side snapped it with a 3-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. A narrow loss to Bayern Munich followed, and then a 2-0 win over SC Freiburg.

The win helped Frankfurt leapfrog Freiburg and jump to seventh in the Bundesliga, albeit nine points off of Bayer Leverkusen. Riera has picked up results in three of four games, only losing to an elite Bayern Munich side.

The Spaniard's side is still far from flawless, but Frankfurt are picking up momentum after a disappointing slump. Jonathan Burkardt's return to action has helped, too. The German striker has helped reenergize Die Adler's attack since his return in February. 

Frankfurt have not lost to St. Pauli since December 2011. Die Adler won this season's earlier match-up 2-0 in October thanks to a Burkardt brace.

Team News:

Kaua Santos picked up a knee injury against SC Freiburg and will be sidelined for several weeks.

Can Uzun, Michy Batshuayi, and Younes Ebnoutalib have returned to training, but are still out for the time being.

Arthur Theate, Rasmus Kristensen, and Ansgar Knauff are still sidelined with long-term injuries.

Predicted Lineup: Zetterer, Collins, Koch, Amenda, Brown, Kalimuendo, Højlund, Larsson, Chaïbi, Bahoya, Burkardt