St. Pauli vs. Borussia Dortmund preview: Kovač eager to build some momentum | OneFootball

St. Pauli

At what will be a ravenous atmosphere at the Millerntor-Stadion for Saturday evening’s top spiel (6.30pm CET), St.Pauli will commence their second season since returning to the Bundesliga. Standing in their way, Borussia Dortmund will present a sizeable challenge for Alexander Blessin’s side to sink their teeth into.

Confidence may not be at an all-time high just yet. A stuttering start in the DFB-Pokal against Regionalliga side Eintracht Norderstedt saw them advance on penalties (3-2) after a scoreless draw. Despite missing their first two spot-kicks, Louis Oppie, Danel Sinani and David Nemeth held their nerve to get over the line.

Although up against it with BVB coming to town, the Kiezkickers will take some solace in knowing they boasted the league’s second-best defence last season (41 conceded) Their main issue needing rectified in 2025/26 is their goalscoring ability. The topflight’s lowest tally (28 scored) becomes that bit harder to improve on with Morgan Guilavogui no longer at the club.

Team News:

3-4-2-1: Vasilj – Wahl, Smith, Ritzka – Saliakas, Sands, Fujita, Oppie – Afolayan, Pereira Lage – Hountondji

On the personnel front, only Ricky-Jade Jones (dislocated shoulder) and Jackson Irvine (injury rehab) are out, while David Nemeth (muscular problems) picked up a blow in the Pokal game at an unfortunate time. Therefore, Blessin should set up with Nikola Vasilj behind a back-three of Hauke Wahl, Eric Smith and Lars Ritzka.

Manolis Saliakas and new signing Louis Oppie will bring width and speed to the flanks with James Sands alongside Joel Chima Fujita in midfield. Luxembourg international Danel Sinani ought to fight for his spot, but Dapo Afolayan is expected to join Mathias Pereira Lage behind Andreas Hountondji both keen to impress on their Bundesliga debuts.

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund endured a rollercoaster of a 2024/25 until Niko Kovac came in and steadied the black and yellow ship. This season, despite a somewhat underwhelming transfer window, they are expected to finish in a top-four berth with little fuss. A trip to the Hanseatic city makes for an interesting Bundesliga opener.

However, BVB’s pre-season has been blighted by injuries, and they come into this fixture looking like a shadow of their typically star-studded defence. Nerves jangled on Monday night as their first competitive game of the campaign pitted them against 3.Liga side Rot-Weiss Essen. It was far from an assured performance, but Serhou Guirassy’s moment of brilliance bailed them out.

Perhaps the best result from that flood-lit night at the Hafenstrasse came in the days after as it was revealed that Yan Couto hadn’t suffered a serious injury. Furthermore, 20-year-old novice Filippo Mane appeared right at home in Kovac’s rearguard, while Gregor Kobel looked up to his usual shot-stopping best. They’ll fancy their chances of taking a win on the road to build confidence into another Bundesliga journey.

Team News:

4-3-1-2: Kobel – Mane, Anton, Bensebaini – Couto, Gross, Sabitzer, Svensson – Jobe – Guirassy, Adeyemi

The absentee list is hefty for BVB as Nico Schlotterbeck (meniscus tear), Niklas Suele (muscle injury), Emre Can (adductor) and Julien Duranville (joint dislocation are out. Therefore, Kovac will call upon Gregor Kobel in goals with youngster Filippo Mane, Waldemar Anton and Rami Bensebaini in defence.

Yan Couto is tipped to start on the right flank although Julian Ryerson (calf) is said to be on the mend. The experienced duo of Pascal Gross and Marcel Sabitzer complete the midfield along with Daniel Svensson. Marquee signing Jobe Bellingham is tipped to play slot in behind the deadly pairing of Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi up top.