St. Pauli vs Bayern Munich

Millerntor-Stadioni is the venue as newly promoted St. Pauli take on record-time Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich for the first time since 2011.

Back to the top flight for the first time in over a decade, St. Pauli found a much-needed respite amid a dreadful Bundesliga, beating TSG Hoffenheim 2-0 away from home to climb out of the bottom three and arrest an underwhelming run of three consecutive winless league matches (D1, L2). However, they’re not out of the woods yet as they bid to avoid an immediate relegation to the second tier, which has happened across their last three Bundesliga campaigns. They’ll need to recalibrate their crosshairs up front to increase their chances after mustering a league-low seven goals in the opening nine rounds. Particularly wasteful at the Millerntor-Stadion, they’re the only team in the Bundesliga yet to score a home goal this term (D2, L2).

St. Pauli’s scoring issues must be music to Bayern Munich’s ears, with the visitors seeking a fifth consecutive clean sheet since a 4-1 UEFA Champions League thumping at Barcelona. Vincent Kompany’s side avenged that embarrassment with a narrow 1-0 home win against Benfica during midweek, building further confidence after last weekend’s 3-0 thrashing of Union Berlin. That victory helped the Bavarians tighten their stranglehold on the division, moving three points clear at the table’s summit as the only Bundesliga team yet to lose a league fixture this season (W7, D2). Another win looks inevitable, considering Bayern humbled St. Pauli 3-0 and 8-1 during their hosts’ last top-flight campaign. With their two away wins in the build-up to this trip coming by 4+ goals ‘to one,’ another emphatic scoreline could be on the cards.