While SC have struggled to pick up results against the league’s top teams so far this season, it’s been a different story against those sides in the bottom six. Julian Schuster’s team have already beaten Kiel, Bochum and Heidenheim, however they lost at home to St. Pauli earlier this season, only one of two defeats at the Europa-Park Stadion this term.

A journey worth making

Saturday will be Freiburg’s first trip to the Millerntor-Stadion in nine and a half years, with the club’s fans keen to not miss out on the opportunity – 3,000 SC supporters will make the long trip up north this weekend. Julian Schuster once played at the ground and also attended a match as part of his UEFA Pro Licence course. “It’s a special stadium and can get very loud.” Schuster also has good memories of the host club’s hospitality: “St. Pauli play the away team’s club anthem, something I’ve never seen or experienced at any other ground. It just speaks volumes of the character that club has.”

The SC coach is therefore excited for the trip to Hamburg, even if he’s aware of how difficult a game it will be. “We are wary of St. Pauli, they have been able to stabilise their team during this season.” A look at the statistics back up Schuster’s statement. The Kiezkicker’s defence has been particularly impressive, with only league leaders FC Bayern conceding more goals than them (24, same as Mainz). “They have the second-best defence in the league, something we felt the brunt of during the reverse fixture,” reflected Schuster. While Freiburg have let in a total of 36 goals, there is one similarity between the teams. SC have kept six clean sheets in 2024/25, St. Pauli seven – only Bayern and Leipzig have managed more shutouts.

St. Pauli are still in the bottom six, albeit now seven points clear of the relegation zone. However, the majority of their 21 points have actually come on their travels and Alexander Blessin’s side have managed only two wins at home. Their attacker Johannes Eggestein, brother of SC’s Maximilian, is still confident: “We have shown the whole league that it’s not easy to take points off us.”

Look for space, remain patient

Schuster agreed with Eggestein’s comment about St. Pauli and added: “They are more solid now, have settled on a standard formation and that’s resulted in them playing better and picking up more points.” Schuster and his coaching team have learnt their lessons from the 3-0 defeat earlier this season: “We know that we once again won’t be given much space. It’s important that we remain patient this time.”

Lukas Kübler will also need to remain patient. The defender is not fit yet after suffering from a recent infection. Michael Gregoritsch and Max Rosenfelder, who were both absent for the win over Heidenheim, have returned to team training.

Photo: SC Freiburg