FC St. Pauli face an away fixture against Energie Cottbus this Sunday, 20 September. Kick-off at the LEAG Energie Stadion is scheduled for 13:30 CEST.
Head coach Fabian Hürzeler's side travel with momentum from their last outing. A late goal from Joel Chima Fujita secured a key 1-0 home win over VfL Wolfsburg last Saturday. That result moved the Kiezkicker up to ninth place in the 2. Bundesliga with six points from five matches. Their recent form of one win, two draws and two losses from the last five games indicates room for improvement.
The opponent from Lusatia presents a tricky challenge. Energie Cottbus sit one point and two places above St. Pauli in seventh. They are coming off an emphatic 3-0 away victory at Karlsruher SC. Prior to that, they were involved in a thrilling 4-4 draw in Wolfsburg. Their attacking threat will demand a disciplined defensive performance from the visitors.
For his tactical setup, Hürzeler can look to the starting eleven from the Wolfsburg match. Goalkeeper Benedikt Voll was protected by a back four of Adam Pyrka, Dardan Nemeth, Lars Ritzka and Leart Oppie. Eric Smith anchored the midfield ahead of an attacking trio of Youssouph Niang, Maurits Rasmussen and Joel Chima Fujita. Connor Metcalfe and Abdoulie Ceesay formed the strike partnership. Top scorer Tatsuya Hara, who has two goals this season, came off the bench.
The team's full schedule for the coming weeks is available on our fixtures page. A look at the standings reveals how tight the mid-table pack is. An away win in Cottbus could propel St. Pauli significantly up the ladder.
This match on the sixth matchday is the final fixture before the upcoming international break.
