Heidenheim vs St Pauli Prediction 18 January 2025

🔊 What will the clash of the teams from the bottom of the standings turn into? In the 18th round of the Bundesliga, Heidenheim and St. Pauli will face off. The hosts have a more quality squad, but the guests are firm in their playing principles. It is predicted that the "league pirates" will act very slowly and sluggishly. Even the improved attack of the "1846ers" will not be able to fully cope with this. It is unlikely that the "Voith Arena" will witness a high-scoring encounter.

📊 HEAD-TO-HEAD

The last head-to-head match ended with a victory for Heidenheim with a score of 2:0. Earlier meetings took place in the second Bundesliga, and there is no point in considering them.

🔵 HEIDENHEIM

Heidenheim started gaining points after the new year. After defeating Union with a score of 2:0, there was a draw with Werder (3:3). It should be noted that the attack of the "1846ers" began to show itself at a significantly higher level. The first part of the championship pushed the team to the lower ranks of the attack ratings. After 17 rounds, only 23 goals scored, which is a weak indicator in the high-scoring Bundesliga. Nevertheless, against St. Pauli, it is quite realistic to create chances. There won't be too many - the opponent is used to playing on the counter, closing down on their half. But in such circumstances, the hosts get a rare opportunity to work well in defense. So far, the hosts have terrible statistics on goals conceded: 7.4 more goals were conceded than expected by advanced xG statistics. Fortunately for the hosts, they do not have serious personnel issues. This allows them to fight for 3 points once again.

🔴 ST. PAULI

St. Pauli is a quality defensive team. After 17 rounds, the guests have conceded only 21 goals. This is the second-best result in the Bundesliga. But in a recent match, the defense failed - a defeat by Bochum with a score of 0:1. The first match of the year also ended in a defeat by Eintracht (0:1). The 14th position is fully justified. The guests have big problems with their attack - they have the worst attacking group with only 12 goals. Away from home, St. Pauli will not claim possession - their control rate of 43.8% will remain unchanged. A difficulty for the guests could be a large number of injured players. Saad, who is the main forward, will definitely not take the field. Besides him, 6 more players will not participate in the confrontation. Metz and Wagner are questionable - the coaching staff doesn't have many options.

⚽️ GOAL PREDICTION

Both teams are not very good in terms of attack. Yes, Heidenheim's surge at the start of January is a precursor to slightly better quality play in attack. St. Pauli has never claimed an abundance of goal-scoring situations, and their average goal statistic (0.71) looks quite logical. The home crowd factor will oblige the "1846ers" to act a little more actively and inventively. The selection of players allows for this - after all, the hosts are participants in European competitions. But attention should be paid to the average total of matches involving St. Pauli: only 1.94. In this regard, we suggest trying a bet on total under 3 goals.

🚩 CORNER PREDICTION

Heidenheim is used to playing on the counter. In most cases, they were not allowed to advance into the opponent's half with large forces. Hence their modest statistics on set pieces - an average of 3.82 corners. St. Pauli is similar to their opponent in this component: 3.76. We understand that opponents lack the skill for a large number of bright attacks. A significant part of playing time will be spent in midfield. Therefore, there might be another "under" on set pieces. We suggest trying a bet on total corners under 10.5.

📝 EDITORIAL PREDICTION

The teams from the bottom of the standings meet, so we can't expect bright football. St. Pauli is an incredibly pragmatic team that often demonstrates anti-football. The guests are more comfortable playing for a goalless draw rather than claiming victory. Heidenheim is more ambitious in this regard, but they won't be able to fully open up their game. In this confrontation, fortune may smile upon the hosts. We anticipate that the clash of championship outsiders will end with a score of 1:0. We suggest focusing on total under 3 goals.