2. Bundesliga Topspiel preview: FC St. Pauli vs. VfL Wolfsburg

Preview, team news and predicted lineups as St. Pauli welcome Wolfsburg to the Millerntor-Stadion on Saturday evening.

Photo by Selim Sudheimer/Getty Images

In a meeting between two Bundesliga relegated sides looking to bounce back into the top flight at the first attempt, St. Pauli will be desperate to claim their first victory of the season when they welcome Wolfsburg to the Millerntor on Saturday.

While Wolfsburg have made the more encouraging start and currently sit fourth in the table, St. Pauli remain without a win after their opening four matches and occupy 15th place heading into the weekend.

Marcel Rapp’s side have nevertheless shown plenty of resilience during the opening weeks of the campaign, drawing three of their four league matches.

St. Pauli began with a 1-1 draw away to Greuther Fürth before a 2-2 draw in Kiel. They then recorded their first loss against Kaiserslautern before another draw with Arminia Bielefeld, leaving them with three points from their opening four fixtures.

Their most recent outing against Bielefeld was another frustrating evening. St. Pauli twice fell behind but fought back on both occasions, with Taichi Hara and Abdoulie Ceesay finding the net to secure a point.

The result extended their winless run to four matches and means St. Pauli are still waiting for their first competitive victory under Rapp.

Despite their lack of victories, there have been encouraging signs in their performances. The Kiezkicker have generally been able to control possession and create pressure, but Rapp has identified a lack of cutting edge as one of the major problems.

“We had good control of the game, but we created too few chances from it. It’s a task for the coming weeks that we have to become more dangerous,” Rapp said following the draw in Bielefeld.

Defensive errors have also proved costly, with captain David Nemeth admitting that his side had made too many mistakes in their own penalty area.

“The goals we concede are too easy,” Nemeth said after the Bielefeld match.

St. Pauli will therefore hope that the atmosphere at the Millerntor can provide the extra spark required to finally get their campaign moving. Rapp is certainly confident his side can rise to the occasion, despite acknowledging the quality of Saturday’s opponents.

“Wolfsburg are the benchmark,” Rapp said ahead of the game, while insisting that his players are desperate to claim their first three points.

The visitors have made a considerably stronger start to life in the second tier.

Wolfsburg have collected seven points from their opening four matches, winning twice and drawing twice. They began with a 0-0 draw with Kaiserslautern before a narrow win in Hannover, followed by a dominant victory over Karlsruher SC.

Last time out Wolfsburg were held to a remarkable 4-4 draw by newly promoted Energie Cottbus, surrendering a three-goal lead before eventually having to settle for a point.

The result highlighted both the attacking quality and defensive weaknesses that have characterised Wolfsburg’s start to the season.

The Wolves have already scored ten goals in four matches, but they have also conceded six, with Strobl particularly unhappy with the manner in which his side allowed Cottbus back into the game.

“The goals were too cheap,” Strobl said afterwards.

The Wolfsburg coach has spent much of this week working on defensive organisation ahead of the trip to Hamburg, calling for greater collective responsibility when his side are out of possession.

“The game without the ball has to become a ‘we’. We have to stand together better as a collective and develop a mindset without the ball. Then we will minimise the goals conceded,” Strobl said.

Saturday’s game will also have an additional storyline for one of the visitors.

Hauke Wahl left St. Pauli during the summer to join Wolfsburg and will make his return to the Millerntor for the first time since leaving the club.

Wahl played a key role in St. Pauli’s promotion to the Bundesliga and remains highly regarded by the club’s supporters. Rapp, who previously worked with Wahl at Holstein Kiel, expects the defender to receive a warm reception despite returning in Wolfsburg colours.

“I am looking forward to seeing him,” Rapp said.

Wahl himself has admitted that the fixture will be particularly emotional, having previously experienced the atmosphere of the Millerntor under the lights.

“I know the magical Millerntor from floodlit games. I have already told the lads how much fun it will be,” Wahl said.

The two sides met twice in the Bundesliga last season, with Wolfsburg winning both encounters. The most recent meeting at the Millerntor ended in a 3-1 victory for the visitors. 

Saturday therefore presents St. Pauli with another opportunity to finally kick-start their season, while Wolfsburg will be looking to maintain their position towards the top of the table.

Team news

St. Pauli: Branimir Hrgota is a doubt after suffering heel problems and will face a late fitness test. Mathias Pereira Lage and Gisli Thórdarson are the other absentees. 

Wolfsburg: Mathys Angely is suspended after receiving a second yellow card against Energie Cottbus and will definitely miss the trip to Hamburg. Fraser Hornby, Rogerio, Christian Eriksen and Timon Wellenreuther will also miss out. 

Predicted lineups

St. Pauli (3-4-1-2): Voll; Nemeth, Mathisen, Ando; Pyrka, Rasmussen, Smith, Oppie; Metcalfe; Ceesay, Hara

Wolfsburg (4-2-3-1): Zielinski; Fischer, Wahl, Adjetey, Maehle; Vini Souza, Rexhbecaj; Bernhardsson, Damar, Reese; Glatzel