St Pauli vs Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund travel to the Millerntor-Stadion to take on Bundesliga 2 outfit St Pauli in the DFB-Pokal round of 16.

St Pauli head into proceedings in the midst of a rough patch, having failed to win any of their last three Bundesliga 2 matches (D2, L1) following a run of three league victories on the bounce beforehand. Despite their indifferent form, the ‘Kiezkicker’ have been a fun team to watch, with six of their last seven competitive matches featuring over 2.5 total goals. Remarkably, though, Timo Schultz’s men have yet to lose at home in competitive action this season (W8, D1), noticeably scoring 2+ goals on each occasion, at an average of 2.88 per game. That should inspire St Pauli’s bid to snap a run of six consecutive home H2H defeats in all competitions. During that spread of matches, the hosts failed to score four times, netting precisely once in the other two.

On the other hand, a 3-2 away defeat to Hertha BSC in their final Bundesliga fixture of 2021 seems to have served as a wake-up call for Borussia Dortmund, who have enjoyed a stellar start to the new calendar year. After turning a 2-0 HT deficit into a 3-2 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt in their 2022 curtain-raiser, ‘Die Borussen’ swept Freiburg aside with a comprehensive 5-1 home win last time out. However, Marco Rose’s men have blown hot and cold away from home, racking up just two wins from their previous six road trips in all competitions (D1, L3). Yet, high scoring has been a common theme in Dortmund’s recent away games as six of their last seven competitive travels have seen over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet.