St. Pauli play Hertha BSC on Sunday afternoon in the 2. Bundesliga with the hope of extending their lead at the top of the 2. Liga with victory.
Match Overview
FC St. Pauli
St. Pauli lost last weekend against Hertha BSC's fellow relegated side last season in Schalke 04. A double from Yusuf Kabadayi and a goal from Kenan Karaman was enough for the Royal Blues to beat the side from Hamburg at the Veltins-Arena.
However, seeing as both Holstein Kiel and Hamburg failed to win last time out as well, not much changed in terms of positioning at the top end of the table as St. Pauli remain 1st.
Despite not scoring the most amount of goals in the 2. Bundesliga, St. Pauli have been the most defensively sound as they've conceded only twenty-five this campaign.
In terms of goal contributions, nobody has more than Marcel Hartel's 21 in the 2. Bundesliga (12 goals and 9 assists) and he has contributed to just under half of all St. Pauli goals this campaign.
Before the game, St. Pauli coach Fabian Hürzeler said: "Hertha Berlin have a lot of individual quality. They have midfield players that can move the ball forward very well."
Hertha Berlin
Hertha got themselves a very respectable 2-2 draw against promotion hopefuls Holstein Kiel last time out.
However, they will be annoyed that they conceded so late on in the 98th minute and in doing so missed out on all three points.
Promotion isn't off the cards due to the inconsistency of other sides above them. However, before matchday 25 they sat seven points off Hamburg in third who are only in a promotion play-off spot.
Hertha Berlin's Haris Tabaković is the league's third top scorer with thirteen goals. He grabbed a brace against Holstein Kiel last weekend to put the Berlin side 2-0 up.
Last time Hertha BSC played St. Pauli, it ended in a 2-1 loss at the Olympiastadion as Marcel Hartel and Johannes Eggestein scored.
Despite this, Hertha will no doubt be lifted by the fact they're unbeaten in their last four league games.
Team News
St. Pauli
For St. Pauli, Sören Ahlers is out with injury. Oladapo Afolayan is unavailable with a ligament injury and Scott Banks has a cruciate ligament tear so will miss the game.
Hertha Berlin
Marc Oliver Kempf is out with injury and Agustín Rogel is suffering from knee problems so will miss the tie.
Predicted Lineups
St. Pauli
Vasilj; Mets, Wahl, Dzwigala; Treu, Hartel, Irvine, Saliakas; Metcalfe, Eggestein, Saad
Hertha Berlin
Ernst; Kenny, Gechter, Leistner, Karbownik; Klemens, Barkok; P. Dárdai, Maza, Reese; Tabakovic
Match Result
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2. Bundesliga Matchday 20: Players to Watch on Saturday
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