The reassuring margin over the third-last team has almost completely eroded. This is mainly thanks to Bochum, who, like the famous phoenix, have been able to rise from their ashes—a week ago, Dieter Hecking’s men won away at Bayern Munich, moving to within two points of the fourth-last spot—but also due to St. Pauli’s long winless streak, having picked up just two points in their last six games.
It is therefore no surprise that the newly promoted team can no longer sleep soundly: in addition to Bochum, Kiel and Heidenheim are also still ‘alive’, respectively second-last and last in the table, five and six points behind the browns. In short, it will take a lot of hard work to stay up, as St. Pauli coach Alexander Blessin, who spent a few seasons in Italy with Genoa, is well aware. His team is in danger of being sucked into the relegation zone despite having the second-best defense in the league, conceding the same number of goals as Bayer Leverkusen (only leaders Bayern Munich have done better). However, the lack of goals is starting to cause concern: St. Pauli returned to scoring last Sunday against Wolfsburg (1-1) after four games without a goal. This drought could end in the relegation battle with Hoffenheim, a team that has only kept one clean sheet in the Bundesliga since November. However, the bad spell seems to be over for the Sinsheim club, which, thanks to two consecutive away wins against Werder Bremen and Bochum (unbeaten for 360 minutes), has moved six points clear of the third-bottom team.
Odds comparison
The “1X” result is priced at 1.32 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and at 1.30 on Snai. The “Under 2.5” result is priced at 1.75 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and at 1.73 on Snai.
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Prediction
One of St. Pauli’s six league wins came against Hoffenheim, who they beat 2-0 in November. According to the bookmakers’ odds, the Blue and Whites are not favorites this time either, but in the last month they seem to have regained confidence, performing well especially away from home. The stage is therefore set for a balanced and hard-fought match, in which the Brown and Whites should return to take advantage of their home field after two consecutive home defeats. The total number of goals is likely to be less than three.
Probable line-ups for St. Pauli-Hoffenheim
ST. PAULI (3-4-1-2): Vasilj; Nemeth, Wahl, van der Heyden; Saliakas, Irvine, Smith, Treu; Sinani; Weißhaupt, Saad.
HOFFENHEIM (4-3-1-2): Baumann; Kadeřábek, Akpoguma, Østigård, Gendrey; Bischof, Stach, Becker; Kramarić; Tabaković, Orban.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1