Two northern sides will do battle under the floodlights in Hamburg this Saturday night when SV Werder visit FC St. Pauli for an 18:30 CET kick off (14/12/2024). The Green-Whites will have to deal with a unique atmosphere as they look to try and take all three points on the road.
The squad: Justin Njinmah (ankle), Felix Agu (lateral collateral ligament) and Keke Topp (ankle) will play no further part in Werder’s matches in 2024. Leonardo Bittencourt will also at least miss the St. Pauli game with an adductor issue.
Ole Werner on the opponents: “I’m expecting the atmosphere at the Millerntor to be fantastic. It’s a game we’re looking forward to, but we have to play our own game and be focused. They don’t let opponents have many chances, are strong at the back and that’s really impressive, particularly for a promoted side. We need to keep defending the way we have recently and make use of the little space that’s afforded to us. Both teams know what to expect from one another. It’ll be a close game, one that we want to win.”
Head-to-head: SV Werder and FC St. Pauli have played one another 23 times in all competitions since the Bundesliga was founded in 1963. The Green-Whites have won 15 meetings and only lost two. SVW’s last victory over the Kiezkicker came in 2011 courtesy of a Claudio Pizarro brace (3-1), while ‘the Boys in Brown’ most recently got the better of Werder in a memorable DFB-Pokal tie in 2006 in a snowy Hamburg (3-1). The most recent meetings, in the second division in 2021/22, both ended 1-1.
A long wait: While the Werder fans had to wait until the 2-2 draw against Bayer 04 Leverkusen to see their first home goals of the season, FC St. Pauli’s supporters only got to celebrate their first two weeks ago. Manolis Saliakas’ powerful volley broke the deadlock in a 3-1 win over Holstein Kiel, their first victory at home in the Bundesliga in over 13 years.
