RB Leipzig vs. St. Pauli preview: Two teams desperate to achieve different objectives

RB Leipzig

Leipzig suffered a setback in their efforts to secure Champions League football with a heavy defeat to Bayer Leverkusen last weekend. Christoph Baumgartner scored Leipzig’s only goal of a disappointing 4-1 loss, bringing an end to a run of five consecutive victories.

That said, Die Roten Bullen are still in a strong position to secure a top-four finish, with the third-placed side boasting a four-point advantage over Leverkusen, Stuttgart and Hoffenheim. A win over St. Pauli will guarantee Champions League qualification, while a draw will be enough if there is a winner between Stuttgart and Leverkusen, or Hoffenheim fail to beat Werder Bremen. There is a scenario in which Leipzig could lose and still qualify with a game to play, but they would need Stuttgart and Leverkusen to draw and Bremen to beat Hoffenheim.

Ole Werner’s side should fancy their chances of picking up all three points from Saturday’s contest, having won each of their last four matches at the Red Bull Arena. They have also won their last two competitive home games against St. Pauli.

Team News

Leipzig remain without the services of Viggo Gebel and Leopold Zingerle due to injury. Ezechiel Banzuzi and Suleman Sani are back in training, but it remains to be seen whether they are ready for Saturday’s contest. 

Predicted lineup: Vandevoort; Baku, Orbán, Lukeba, Raum; Ouédraogo, Seiwald, Baumgartner; Diomande, Nusa, Rômulo 

St. Pauli

St. Pauli dropped into the bottom two on matchday 34 of the Bundesliga season. Alexander Blessin’s side fell short in their home meeting with Mainz 05, with Abdoulie Ceesay’s 87th-minute effort arriving too late in a 2-1 defeat. That result extended St. Pauli’s winless run to eight games and was soon made worse by Wolfsburg’s draw against Freiburg, which caused them to drop into the automatic relegation places on goal difference.

The hosts are also sitting three points above basement side Heidenheim and six points adrift of Werder Bremen and FC Köln. With 15th spot seemingly out of reach, St. Pauli look set to battle Wolfsburg for the right to play in the relegation playoffs against the third-placed team from the 2. Bundesliga. Blessin’s charges may already have one eye on their final game of the season against die Wölfe, but they will be desperate to go into that massive encounter with a points advantage.

However, picking up a positive result against Leipzig will be easier said than done for a team that have lost six of their last eight Bundesliga away games (W1, D1). They are also the league’s lowest scorers, so it will be a tricky task to break down a Leipzig side that boast the third-best defensive record in the division.

They may at least be able to take some confidence from the fact the salvaged a 1-1 draw when the two sides last met in January’s meeting at Millerntor.

Team News

The visitors are unable to call upon Jannik Robatsch, Manolis Saliakas, James Sands, Mathias Pereira Lage, Karol Mets and Ricky-Jade Jones. 

Predicted lineup: Vasilj; Ando, Wahl, Dźwigała; Pyrka, Irvine, Smith, Ritzka; Sinani, Fujita; Kaars