FC St. Pauli v BVB: Predicted line-ups | OneFootball

On the first matchday of the new Bundesliga season 2025/26, Borussia Dortmund will face FC St. Pauli in the evening. The long-term injured players are unavailable, but Yan Couto and Julian Ryerson, who were doubtful, are available. Here are the expected starting lineups for both clubs for the match at 6:30 PM at the Millerntor.

After a rather tough start to the season with a narrow 1-0 victory over third-division team Rot-Weiss Essen in the DFB-Pokal, BVB now aims for another win. It would extend an impressive series for the Black and Yellows.

In defense, Kovac has to do without many regulars, which has long been the case for all those affected. The aforementioned long-term injured players at BVB are:

The Kicker suspects that Julian Ryerson will not be in the starting eleven, even though he is fit to play. Youngster Filippo Mane is expected to feature again in the back three, while Adeyemi is preferred over Beier up front.

Gregor Kobel – Filippo Mane, Waldemar Anton, Ramy Bensebaini – Yan Couto, Marcel Sabitzer, Daniel Svensson – Pascal Groß, Jobe Bellingham – Serhou Guirassy, Karim Adeyemi

Photo: IMAGO

Filippo Mane Again Earns Kovac's Trust

FC St. Pauli had an even harder time than BVB reaching the second round of the DFB-Pokal. Against fourth-division team Eintracht Norderstedt, a penalty shootout was needed to make the Hamburg team the winner. The match even took place in their own stadium. Therefore, the team is unlikely to have gained much confidence, even though they had numerous attempts.

Additionally, FC St. Pauli also has exactly four players out. They are:

Coach Alexander Blessin might opt for the following starting lineup, aiming to make up for last season's extremely poor home record:

Nikola Vasilj – Hauke Wahl, Erik Smith, Adam Dzwigala – Arkadiusz Pyrka, James Sands, Joel-Chima Fujita, Louis Oppie – Danel Sinani – Andreas Hountondji, Mathias Pereira Lage

Bookmakers naturally see BVB as the favorite, without considering FC St. Pauli as mere cannon fodder. The odds for a home win are around 4.00, while those for a victory by Nico Kovac's team are around 1.90.

Last season, BVB won both encounters with FC St. Pauli. They won 2-1 at home and 2-0 away.

Many more numbers and facts ahead of today's match FC St. Pauli – Borussia Dortmund can be found here.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.