St Pauli have slipped to the relegation zone after losing their last five league games and they now have got to try and get a result against struggling Schalke. The visitors have shown some improvement lately and they will be looking to take advantage of the opponent’s problems and further escape the danger zone.

Five straight defeats

Bundesliga newcomers have started their season in the top flight brightly, but they were soon put back to their place and everybody could see they were in for a difficult survival fight. Hogler Stanislawski’s side significantly improved their survival chances as they won three straight games at the start of February, but then came the five-match losing run that saw them slip back to the relegation zone. The hosts now have massive problems before the Schalke game as not only the players are completely out of confidence following the dismal run of results, but several important players have picked up injuries recently and they are likely to miss out in this clash. Having lost 7 out of 14 home games this season, St Pauli don’t have much reason for optimism at the moment.

Right-back Moritz Volz is out for the season after breaking his shin in training, while midfielder Fabian Boll is a major doubt with an ankle problem. With Fabio Morena, Carsten Rothenbach, Carlos Zambrano and Bastian Oczipka also sidelined, the hosts face a major defensive crisis.

Schalke improving

This season has been a real rollercoaster ride for Schalke as the team have largely struggled in Bundesliga, but managed to reach Champions League quarter-finals after some impressive performances in Europe. The club chiefs finally decided to sack coach Felix Magath and appointed talented Ralf Rangnick in his place, with the former Hoffenheim boss expected to prepare this team for the new season. Schalke lost the first game under new boss as they were beaten by Bayer Leverkusen, but the game against struggling St Pauli is a perfect opportunity to return to winning ways. Schalke have been playing pretty well on the travels and they definitely have the quality to beat severely weakened St Pauli side.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar has resumed training following his return from knee injury but is not yet ready to feature, while Hans Sarpei is a doubt with a bout of flu.

Verdict

St Pauli are in all sorts of problems at the moment as they are not only low on confidence but are also without almost all starting defenders. Schalke, on the other hand, have shown some improvement lately and I can see them winning this game.

Our prediction: Away win

Odds: 2.30 (13/10)

Bookmaker: Sportingbet