St. Pauli vs. Mainz 05 preview: Hosts continue fight for survival
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St. Pauli
St. Pauli are languishing in the relegation playoff spot after mustering 26 points from their 31 games this season. A seven-game winless run has dented their hopes of escaping the bottom three, with five points separating them from Hamburger SV and FC Köln in 15th and 14th spot respectively. In truth, St. Pauli are fighting to avoid automatic relegation, given the fact they are just a point clear of Wolfsburg and four points better off than basement side Heidenheim.
Their final day home clash with Wolfsburg has the potential to be a winner-takes-all affair, but ideally, they will look to do the majority of the work in their next two outings against Mainz and Leipzig. Alexander Blessin’s side will return home for matchday 31 after falling to a disappointing 2-0 defeat away to relegation rivals Heidenheim last weekend.
If they are to return to winning ways this weekend, St. Pauli will need to record their first-ever victory over Mainz since May 2009.
Team News
The hosts are unable to call upon the services of James Sands, Mathias Pereira Lage and Ricky-Jade Jones.
Predicted lineup: Vasilj; Ando, Wahl, Mets; Saliakas, Smith, Irvine, Pyrka; Sinani, Fujita, Hountondji
Mainz 05
Mainz are sitting in 10th spot after winning eight, drawing 10 and losing 13 of their 31 league games this season. Mainz appear to be playing for position at this stage of the season, considering the fact they are eight points adrift of St. Pauli and nine points away from the European spots.
Urs Fischer’s side will travel to Millerntor-Stadion with hopes of returning to winning ways after failing to win their last four matches in all competitions. They followed a 1-0 defeat to Freiburg with a heavy 4-0 loss to Strasbourg in the second leg of their Conference League semi-final. After being eliminated from European competition, Die Nullfünfer returned to Bundesliga action with a 1-1 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach, before they fell to a 4-3 defeat against champions Bayern Munich after racing into a three-goal lead at the break.
While they spurned an opportunity to beat Bayern, Mainz will surely fancy their chances of claiming all three points on Sunday, having won four of their last five games against St. Pauli, including a 3-0 success in their last trip to Millerntor in October 2024.
Team News
Mainz are without Lee-jae Sung, Silas, Benedict Hollerbach, Kasey Bos, Maxim Dal and Maxim Leitsch due to injury.
Predicted lineup: Batz; Da Costa, Posch, Kohr; Caci, Nebel, Sano, Amiri, Mwene; Becker, Tietz
