St Pauli v Holstein Kiel

St Pauli vs Holstein Kiel Preview

Third from bottom placed St Pauli will be desperate to avoid a third league defeat in the German Bundesliga on Friday night when they play host to fellow strugglers Holstein Kiel at their Millerntor-Stadion following losses at the hands of Bayern Munich and Borussia M'gladbach.

Holstein Kiel's miserable start to this German Bundesliga campaign continued last weekend when the newcomers were dealt a heavy 3-0 loss at home to Mainz, leaving Friday night's visitors occupying second from bottom place in the Bundesliga table.

Having managed to record just two wins from their 11 games overall in the German top flight so far this term, St Pauli occupy the relegation play-off spot down near the bottom of the table following wins against Freiburg and Hoffenheim, both of which were actually registered on their travels.

The bigger picture shows St Pauli have had to endure a long and tough journey in the domestic top flight overall as the upcoming hosts have collected just these two wins from their last 23 matches at this level, whilst also being dealt no fewer than 18 defeats within this period as well.

Therefore, the straight win markets should be avoided here, but goals could come at a premium on Friday night as six of St Pauli's last 10 games overall have resulted in Under 2.5 goals.

Holstein Kiel gained promotion from the 2 Bundesliga at the end of last season's second tier campaign but their euphoria has been short-lived as the visitors had had to endure a miserable baptism of fire in the German top flight so far this term.

The newcomers have never played in the domestic top flight before this season and this current campaign could be their first and last for quite a while unless they can turn things around; indeed, Holstein Kiel have registered just one win to date this season.

That rare highlight came in the form of a 1-0 home win against Heidenheim but this modest success has been swamped by incurring no fewer than eight defeats within their opening 11 league matches, so the prospects of an away win here at the Millerntor-Stadion on Friday night look distinctly unlikely.

Within these eight losses so far this season, Holstein Kiel have lost three of these away from home with the visitors finding themselves second best at the likes of Hoffenheim, Stuttgart and Werder Bremen respectively, so there appears to be little hope for Marcel Rapp's side, even at fellow strugglers, St Pauli.

St Pauli v Holstein Kiel Verdict

St Pauli have won the last three meetings on the trot against Holstein Kiel and the hosts might just shade a narrow win here on Friday night but this upcoming encounter looks like being a low-scoring affair between two struggling outfits.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 2.00

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 3.60

Correct Score: 1-1 @ 7.00