Matchday in focus: Settled and solid St. Pauli

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Eintracht Frankfurt

·24 de octubre de 2025

Matchday in focus: Settled and solid St. Pauli

St. Pauli have made the fewest changes to their starting XI this season, while their goalkeeper has saved the most big chances in the league.

Opponents

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Saturday’s clash with FC St. Pauli is the second of three home games in the space of a week for Eintracht Frankfurt. In the words of head coach Alexander Blessin at Thursday’s pre-match press conference, the Hamburg outfit are determined to “play as a team and defend our goal with everything we’ve got” at Deutsche Bank Park. “Every tackle you win boosts your confidence,” added Blessin, who tends to set his side up in a 3-4-1-2 system.

Absentees

Eintracht will be without Elias Baum and Oscar Højlund, who are both sidelined with muscle injuries.

David Nemeth (muscle problem) is out for the visitors, while James Sands is a doubt after suffering a blow to the head last weekend.

One to watch: Nikola Vasilj

Nikola Vasilj, who is playing his fifth season for St. Pauli after moving to the Millerntor in 2021/22, is the first name on Blessin’s team sheet. Since the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 2023/24, the goalkeeper has started 40 out of 41 top-flight games – more than any other player in the St. Pauli squad. Incidentally, the 1.93m shot-stopper missed the last meeting with Frankfurt after being sent off for a second bookable offence in the previous game. Vasilj …

… has saved nine big chances in the Bundesliga this season – the joint most in the division alongside Finn Dahmen.
… made his debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina U21s as a 17-year-old. He has been a key part of the senior team since 2021, winning 21 caps so far.
… saved four of the five penalties he faced in 2024/25 and played a role in helping St. Pauli register the second-best defensive record in the league.
... has kept 40 clean sheets in 139 competitive outings for St. Pauli.
… is the son of former Croatia international goalkeeper Vladimir Vasilj.

Key stats and runs

St. Pauli’s opponents have managed only 74 shots against them this season – the second fewest in the league behind Bayern Munich.

Blessin has made just five changes to his starting XI this term, using only 18 different players in the process. Both numbers are the lowest in the division.

Eintracht are on a four-game unbeaten run against St. Pauli, winning three and drawing one of those encounters. The Eagles are also unbeaten in all seven home Bundesliga meetings with the Kiezkicker.

Connections

Eintracht’s Ritsu Doan and St. Pauli’s Joel Chima Fujita both play for the Japanese national team.

2021 Gold Cup winner James Sands made his first appearance for the USMNT since mid-2023 during the recent international break. He was part of the Rangers side that lost to Eintracht in the 2022 UEFA Europa League final, entering the fray in the 101st minute.