January 11, 2025. 4:30 p.m. Hamburg. Millerntor Stadium.
Bundesliga 2024-25. Day 16
Suspensions : None
Injuries : Sacha Burkhardt, Seran Alers, Karol Mets, Connor Metcalf, Robert Wagner, Elias Saad, Simon Zoller – Orel Amendah
St. Pauli
The “Pirates” concluded their previous year successfully, marked by a return to the elite, which already constitutes success by default, with a sensational away victory against Stuttgart, winning 1-0. The only goal of the match was scored by striker Johannes Eggestein midway through the first half. In total, this victory marked the fourth for St. Pauli this season, allowing them to maintain a six-point gap with the relegation zone. Among their other successes, two of the last three victories have also come away, including a surprising 3-0 against Freiburg and a solid 2-0 victory over Hoffenheim. Their only home win was against fellow Bundesliga newcomer Holstein, ending 3–1.
Looking closer, we can see some progress not only in the results but also in the quality of the Pirates’ game. However, a lot of work remains to be done for head coach Alexander Blessin. Overall, I think this image will appeal in part to the ardent supporters of this original Hamburg club. It is also worth noting that St. Pauli signed three new players in January: 24-year-old defensive midfielder James Sands from New York City, 23-year-old left winger Noah Weisshaupt from Freiburg and 20-year-old striker Abdoulah Cisse de Paide, for whom Pirates paid the Estonians almost half a million euros. It is entirely possible that these are not the only winter recruits for Alexander Blessin’s team.
Concord
The “Eagles” had a generally remarkable first half of the season, but the “almost” factor crept in after December’s results. In their first match last month, Dino Toppmöller’s side comprehensively beat Heidenheim away (4-0), extending their winning streak in all competitions to seven games, with their unbeaten run reaching nine. However, a few days later they suffered a 0–3 defeat at Leipzig, eliminating them from the DFB-Pokal. A few days later, they surprised by leaving points at home against an average Augsburg (2-2), then had three consecutive defeats.
The first to inflict pain on Eintracht was French side Lyon, who secured a 3-2 comeback victory in a Europa League match. The next round of the Bundesliga saw Dino Toppmöller’s side lose again to RB Leipzig, this time by a score of 2-1. In their final match of last year, the Eagles fell at home to Mainz, losing 1-3. The scoring in this match was opened by an own goal from Eintracht goalkeeper Santos, and although the visitors were reduced to ten men soon after, they managed to extend their lead to three goals, l The Frankfurt team could only react with one goal. Despite a series of setbacks, Eintracht remain in 3rd place in the table, but currently 9th-placed Freiburg are only three points behind them. This means that an extension of their winless streak will inevitably result in an exit from the Champions League zone.
St. Pauli vs. Eintracht: Expected teams
St. Pauli vs. Eintracht: Author’s Predictions
St. Pauli have won just one of their last seven home games, picking up just five points from those encounters (in addition to the mentioned victory, there were two goalless draws against Wolfsburg and Leipzig). The team led by Alexander Blessin scored only three goals in these matches, all against Holstein. Eintracht, on the other hand, has won half of its eight away games in the Bundesliga this season, drawing once and losing three times, but those defeats were against strong opponents—Dortmund, Leverkusen, and Leipzig—none of them not being able to be considered among the ranks of St. Pauli. However, this certainly does not guarantee the Eagles a victory at Millerntor, but Dino Toppmöller’s team is nevertheless rightfully considered the favorite for this meeting.
