St Pauli v Hoffenheim

St Pauli vs Hoffenheim Preview

St Pauli managed to earn what could prove to be a valuable point last weekend in the German Bundesliga with a 1-1 draw away from home at seventh placed Wolfsburg, but although St Pauli now return to the home surroundings of their Millerntor-Stadion for Friday night's encounter against Hoffenheim, the hosts head into this clash on the back of six games without a win.

Hoffenheim, by contrast, extended their unbeaten run in the German top flight to four games overall last Sunday with a 1-1 draw at home with Heidenheim which in turn has given the visitors a six-point cushion above the relegation play-off spot ahead of Friday night's clash with lowly St Pauli at the Millerntor-Stadion.

St Pauli have slipped to four defeats within their current six-match winless slump as the hosts have fallen foul of the likes of RB Leipzig, Freiburg, Mainz and Borussia Dortmund respectively and although Alexander Blessin's side have picked up points by way of stalemates with Augsburg and the aforementioned Wolfsburg, the omens do not look good for this upcoming clash.

The Friday night's hosts have managed to capture a total of just six wins throughout this season's Bundesliga campaign, only two of which have actually been achieved on home soil at their Millerntor-Stadion by virtue of rare wins against Holstein Kiel and Union Berlin.

St Pauli have also been handed seven defeats within their 12 home games to date which suggests another tough evening at the office for the hosts.

Hoffenheim remain in 13th place in the German Bundesliga table following their 1-1 draw with Heidenheim but nevertheless, the visitors look in better shape to gain a potential result on Friday night than their upcoming hosts having picked up eight points within their last four games overall.

Recent wins against Werder Bremen 3-1 and Bochum 1-0, both of which were also away from home, should give Christian Ilzer's side plenty of confidence ahead of this upcoming trip to the Millerntor-Stadion, especially as the visitors have produced a string of encouraging results in recent weeks in the domestic top flight.

Having previously struggled with a six-match winless run of their own earlier from the start of December through to mid-January which included four defeats, Hoffenheim have slipped to just two further wins in their subsequent eight games overall, along with collecting three wins in the process.

With three wins from their last four outings on the road in the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim will be eager to exploit St Pauli's shortcomings here on Friday night.

St Pauli v Hoffenheim Verdict

Both St Pauli and Hoffenheim have struggled overall though in recent times, so a low-scoring affair may unfold here on Friday night with perhaps Hoffenheim nicking a narrow win.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 1.72

Other side bets worth considering:

Hoffenheim win @ 3.30