St. Pauli vs. Werder Bremen preview: A true relegation six-pointer | OneFootball

St. Pauli

This is St. Pauli’s chance to finally jump back out of the automatic relegation places.

They thought this was going to be a dream season early on. Die Kiezkicker drew Borussia Dortmund on opening day, and then they won their next two. This put them in the upper ends of the Bundesliga standings, with many seeing them as this campaign’s underdog story.

It fell apart very quickly, though. The club went through a nine match losing run, which sunk them down the table. They were in the bottom three by matchday 10, and the last month has seen them in the last two places. You don’t need me to tell you what that means.

There is reason to have hope for the St. Pauli faithful. They recently pulled off one of the surprises of the season, defeating top four outfit VfB Stuttgart. That has really kept them alive, and now they’re only two points behind the playoff spot. A win this weekend against their direct relegation rivals would get them out of their hole.

What will worry Die Kiezkicker was what happened this past weekend, as they got smoked 4-0 by Bayer Leverkusen. They were a mess defensively, and it was too easy for the opposition in the final third. If the team plays like that again, then they’ll have no chance of keeping themselves up.

Fortunately for Pauli, they know they can be very solid at the back. Their successes last year came from shutting up shop and staying strong in their shape, limiting space and then pouncing on the counter. It got them results, and kept them in a good spot.

That will be the recipe for survival this time around. You can’t get beat if you don't concede, and there’s enough talent going forward in the team to steal the occasional goal either during the run of play or from a set-piece.

The Millerntor-Stadion will be rocking on Sunday, and St. Pauli will look to make the most of that home-field advantage.

Team newsThey are going through a bit of an injury crisis, with the likes of Mathias Pereira Lage, Simon Spari, David Nemeth, Hauke Wahl, Connor Metcalfe, Andreas Hountondji, and Ricky-Jade Jones all unavailable for selection.

Predicted lineupsVasilj, Dzwigala, Ando, Mets, Saliakas, Sands, Irvine, Pyrka, Sinani, Kaars, Rasmussen

Werder Bremen

It has become do-or-die time for Werder Bremen.

Their winless run was once again extended, this time losing to league-leaders Bayern Munich. Despite ultimately falling 3-0 on the afternoon, the showing wasn’t that bad. Bremen put genuine pressure on the opposition, and the two goals they conceded in the first half were mainly due to moments of individual brilliance from Lennart Karl and Harry Kane.

Still, Werder did not find the back of the net. Not counting the crazy 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, the club has only scored one goal in the span of eight games. That is an absolutely shambolic return. There’s some hope that new manager Daniel Thioune’s system will lead to more chances, but they still have to be finished.

No one has stepped for the Green-Whites going forward. Justin Njinmah is fast and gets opportunities thanks to his speed in behind, however he’s far too wasteful. Marco Grull is better out of possession than he is with the ball, while Keke Topp might simply lack the talent needed at this level. Loanee Jovan Milosevic showed promise, but Thioune has only given him two minutes in the last two games.

It looks like the goalscoring will have to be done by committee. That could work, with the likes of Romano Schmid, Jens Stage, and Samuel Mbangula all capable of creating something out of nothing on their own. There will be a real focus on the last of the three, as this weekend could be his moment to finally shine once again.

None of the attacking woes will matter if Bremen shoots themselves in the foot defensively. It feels like the backline chooses the worst times to make mistakes, and it puts the frontline in a hole. Injuries haven’t helped, but at some point you have to put it all together and keep a clean sheet.

If Werder can build on their recent performances, and they don’t mess things up for themselves, then they could very well end their lengthy nightmare run with a massive win. However, they cannot afford to drop a stinker like they have before.

This is the biggest game of the season, and it’s time for the players to stand up to the challenge.

Team newsIt’s more of the same for Bremen on the injury front. Mitchell Weiser, Maximilian Wöber, and Amos Pieper are still out, while Karim Coulibaly is a fresh injury concern. Victor Boniface isn’t coming back, and Leonardo Bittencourt is questionable.

Predicted lineupsBackhaus, Sugawara, Stark, Friedl, Agu, Puertas, Stage, Schmid, Mbangula, Njinmah, Milosevic