8th.
20:39
Now St. Pauli can switch things up quickly. Leart Paqarada has a lot of space on the left, but the cross slips over his instep.
6.
20:36
Fortuna tries to build up the game calmly and tries to lure the hosts out of their reserve.
4.
20:35
Now Manolis Saliakas also goes down after a duel. The game was tough from the start.
3.
20:34
Marcel Hartel hits the cross on the near post, where Christoph Klarer hurts himself in the air duel. But the Austrian can continue quickly.
2.
20:33
First foray of the home side. Lukas Daschner penetrates the baseline from the right and takes out an early corner kick.
1.
20:32
It starts with a kick-off for the guests dressed in red! The stadium is still slightly shrouded in pyro fog.
20:29
The two teams arrive to the sounds of AC/DC. The mood and the weather couldn’t be better.
20:20
When the first leg went up in mid-November, both teams didn’t have much to do with promotion. After all, Fortuna was in a solid fifth place, but St. Pauli was in danger of relegation as 16th. The Hamburgers are the best second-round team in the entire league and want to crown their race to catch up at the end of the season.
20:06
In the first leg, Fortuna had prevailed 1-0. The ex-Paulianer, Rouwen Hennings, scored the decisive goal. Today, the now 35-year-old sits on the bench for the time being.
19:58
On the home side, Eric Smith can play again from the start after recovering from a yellow card suspension and hip flexor problems. He ousted Adam Dźwigała from the starting XI, who scored the opening goal in the 3-0 win in Darmstadt – the competition is fierce.
19:56
The former midfielder has made three changes since the 3-0 home win against Kiel: Jordy de Wijs, Felix Klaus and Dawid Kownacki have replaced Nicolas Gavory, Kristoffer Peterson and Elione Fernandes in the starting XI. So there is much to suggest that Fortuna will act with a three-man chain today.
19:48
Fortuna coach Daniel Thioune does not put the word advancement in his mouth: “Now Pauli is in front of us. We would like to climb again, at least to fourth place. That’s why I see a huge opportunity. But St. Pauli sees it too, because both could put pressure on HSV.”
19:44
After all, Düsseldorf recently dropped points away from home. In the 2-2 in Bielefeld and the 0-2 defeat in Nuremberg, Fortuna made a mistake against teams from the lower region of the table. The balance sheet against the other top teams is not rosy either – against Darmstadt, Heidenheim and HSV, North Rhine-Westphalia drew the short straw away.
19:40
“Of course we’re excited. The end of the season is approaching. Big games against top teams. That’s why you love football. Saturday night, Millerntor, it can’t get much better,” says Pauli captain Jackson Irvine looking forward to the game. Of course you want to build on your home strength again today.
19:36
There are still three days to go, and every defeat can be decisive. With four points behind the relegation place occupied by Hamburger SV, St. Pauli and Fortuna can no longer afford any mistakes. HSV will be visiting Regensburgers who are threatened with relegation tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.
19:31
Have a nice evening and welcome to the chasing duel in the 2nd Bundesliga! FC St. Pauli receives Fortuna Düsseldorf at the sold-out Millerntor. Kick-off is at 8:30 p.m.!