FC St. Pauli host second-placed 1. FC Nürnberg at the Millerntor-Stadion on Sunday at 1:30 pm local time. The match on the tenth matchday of Bundesliga 2 promises to be a compelling top-of-the-table clash, with St. Pauli entering as the seventh-placed side with 12 points from nine games.

The side enter the fixture on the back of a notable run of four consecutive draws. Their last outing was a goalless 0-0 stalemate away to SV Darmstadt 98. Prior to that came a 1-1 draw in Hannover, a 2-0 home win over Karlsruher SC, and a 1-1 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach. This form sees St. Pauli sitting seventh in the standings with 12 points from nine games. They are unbeaten in their last five league matches, with one win and four draws. Their season record of two wins, six draws and one loss has yielded 11 goals scored and only nine conceded.

Lineup and Form

For the last match, a 3-4-1-2 formation was used with Ben Voll in goal. The back three consisted of David Nemeth, Eric Smith and Lars Ritzka. The midfield featured Arkadiusz Pyrka, Mathias Rasmussen, Joel Fujita and Louis Oppie, with Connor Metcalfe playing behind strikers Youssoupha Niang and Abdoulie Ceesay. Ceesay is the team's current top scorer this season with four goals in seven appearances. His most recent goal came in the 1-1 draw at Hannover on Saturday 17 October.

The visitors from Nuremberg arrive following a 4-4 draw with VfL Wolfsburg and a 1-1 result against Energie Cottbus. They last lined up in a 4-2-3-1 shape with goalkeeper Jan Reichert, defenders Tim Janisch, A. Kalogeropoulos, Fynn Otto and Eric Porstner, and the defensive midfield pair of Adam Marhiev and J. Fernandez. Their attacking threats included Rayan Ghrieb, Julian Justvan, M. A. Zoma and Piet Scobel.

St. Pauli are unbeaten in their last five league matches, though four of those were draws. The defence has been solid, conceding only nine goals, but the attack is searching for more cutting edge. The upcoming challenges on the fixtures list will show if the Kiezkickers can turn these shared points into victories. The home game against direct rival Nürnberg on Saturday 31 October provides the perfect opportunity to start. A win could help cut into the 13-point gap to league leaders Hertha BSC.