Match Preview vs FC St. Pauli

Our Opponents: 

St. Pauli are a completely different animal than the team that we faced earlier in the season. Under new coach Fabian Hürzeler our city neighbours have only been defeated once, last weekend against Eintracht Braunschweig, before that they went 10 games unbeaten. Following a pretty abysmal first round of the season, St. Pauli separated themselves from training Timo Schulz and decided to promote young co-trainer Fabian Hürzeler. So far, the American born is reaping the awards. Reinforcements to the squad such as English winger Oladapo Afolayan, has been a huge part of the complete turnaround from the the Millerntor team. 

Match Facts:

Stadtderby record with few blemishes 

Even though FC St. Pauli have made a better impression in terms of results in stadtderbies in the recent past (only 2 HSV victories since relegation in 2018), the overall historical balance speaks for itself: the men with the diamond on their chest have won 68 of the 108 official matches to date, as well as 16 draws and only 24 defeats. The Red Shorts also won the last match at the Volksparkstadion. On 21 January 2021, the scoreboard showed a 2-1 result (goals: Sebastian Schonlau, Bakery Jatta).

St. Pauli's winning streak stopped 

Last Sunday (16 April) FCSP tried to reduce the gap to HSV to 3 points before the stadtderby - but nothing came of it. Thanks in part to a goal by ex-Rothosen Manuel Wintzheimer, Eintracht Braunschweig won 2-1 at the Millerntor. Nevertheless, the second half of the season has been historically good: 10 of the 11 games have been won, and the youngest coach in the league - Fabian Hürzeler (30) - has made a remarkable transition from co-coach to head coach. By the way: Until his promotion in December 2022, Hürzeler, who was born in Houston, Texas, was still kicking on the side for Eimsbütteler TV and led the 1st men to the Oberliga (5th division) as a playmaker in the 2021/22 season.

Fortress Volkspark lives 

The first-class support of the HSV fans is paying off: In the recently regularly sold-out Volksparkstadion, the Red Shorts have been unbeaten for 7 games, with 6 victories in this period. In addition, head coach Tim Walter's charges have always scored at least 2 goals in all 6 victories. By the way: With an average attendance of 52,861, the Red Shorts are in 4th place in the Bundesliga (!). Only FC Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04 can boast even more impressive figures. The supporters would have deserved the city derby victory in any case!