St Pauli vs Mainz Preview: Team News & Prediction
by Alex Lawes ·
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St Pauli remain in deep trouble down at the bottom end of the Bundesliga table as they now welcome Mainz to Stadion Millerntor in Hamburg.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / US – ESPN
How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / US – ESPN+
St Pauli preview: Struggling St Pauli
St Pauli begin this weekend's round of fixtures sitting third-from-bottom and in the end of season promotion/playoff relegation playoff place. The hosts are five points adrift of outright safety with three games to go.
The hosts come into this one on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Heidenheim at the Voith Arena in their most recent outing due to goals scored by Budu Zivzivadze and Eren Dinkci.
Mainz preview: Mid-table Mainz
They now face a Mainz side that are in danger of allowing an up and down season to peter out with some frustrating results of late as they sit firmly in the middle of the Bundesliga table.
Last weekend, for example, the visitors went into a 3-0 lead by half-time at home to Bayern Munich but they were eventually beaten by the Bavarians by four goals to three, ending their slim hopes of getting back into European competition.
St Pauli team news: Pereira Lage out
Former Stade Brest attacking midfielder Mathias Pereira Lage is now sidelined for the hosts alongside defender James Sands and former Peterborough United striker Ricky-Jade Jones.
Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Vasilj; Ando, Wahl, Mets; Saliakas, Rasmussen, Irvine, Pyrka; Sinani, Fujita; Hountondji
Unavailable: Sands (Injured), Pereira Lage (Injured), Jones (Injured)
Questionable:
Mainz team news: Several sidelined
Mainz are dealing with several injury doubts for this one as they travel to Hamburg with Maxim Dal sidelined alongside Silas, Lee Jae-sung and Benedict Hollerbach.
Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Batz; Da Costa, Posch, Kohr; Widmer, Sano, Nebel, Mwene; Amiri; Becker, Tietz
Unavailable: Dal (Injured), Silas (Injured), Lee (Injured), Hollerbach (Injured)
Questionable: Leitsch (Fitness)
St Pauli vs Mainz prediction
Mainz' campaign in Europe ended last week when they were beaten 4-2 on aggregate by Strasbourg in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League, having led 2-0 after the first-leg. Urs Fischer has done an excellent job with them in the second-half of the campaign and he will be keen to ensure they remain motivated to see off a St Pauli side that are destined for an end of season decider against third from the second-tier to decide their fate.
St Pauli vs Mainz tip: Mainz to win
