2. Bundesliga preview: Energie Cottbus vs. St. Pauli
· Yahoo Sports
In a meeting between two sides who have made encouraging recoveries after difficult spells, Sunday’s clash presents Energie Cottbus with an opportunity to continue their impressive recent form, while St. Pauli will be looking to build on their first league victory of the season.
After returning to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time in 12 years, Cottbus made a promising start by defeating Hannover 96 3-1 on the opening weekend. A 3-0 defeat at Arminia Bielefeld followed, before they suffered another setback at home to Greuther Fürth, losing 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller.
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Claus-Dieter Wollitz’s side have responded impressively since then, however. They fought back from three goals down to draw 4-4 away to recently relegated side VfL Wolfsburg before producing their most complete performance of the campaign last weekend, beating Karlsruher SC 3-0 away from home.
Cottbus therefore sit seventh with seven points from their opening five matches and have already scored 13 goals, although they have also conceded 12.
Wollitz believes his side are developing confidence in their attacking approach and wants them to continue in the same manner against St. Pauli.
“The team is naturally hungry. They want to play this football. They want to confirm it and establish themselves with it,” Wollitz said ahead of Sunday’s encounter.
The Cottbus coach also praised the visitors, describing St. Pauli as a side with “a lot of speed”, plenty of variation and a physical style of play. Nevertheless, he wants his team to head into the international break with another positive result.
St. Pauli have endured a more inconsistent opening to life back in the second tier following their relegation from the Bundesliga last season. Marcel Rapp’s side began with three consecutive draws or defeats in the league, drawing 1-1 with Greuther Fürth and 2-2 away to Holstein Kiel before losing 1-2 at home to Kaiserslautern.
A 2-2 draw at Arminia Bielefeld followed before St. Pauli finally picked up their first league victory of the campaign last weekend, defeating fellow relegated side Wolfsburg 1-0 at the Millerntor.
Joel Chima Fujita scored the only goal of the game in the second half, giving St. Pauli six points from their opening five matches and moving them up to ninth place.
Rapp expects a difficult afternoon in Brandenburg but is confident his team can handle the atmosphere at the LEAG Energie Stadion.
“We’re expecting a heated atmosphere and a team that plays bravely and passionately going forward. But we’re used to that. We have good support, the block is full, and we want to give our fans an away win again,” Rapp said.
The St. Pauli head coach also paid tribute to his opposite number, saying he has “great respect” for Wollitz after the Cottbus coach remained with the club following their failed promotion attempt before eventually leading them back into the 2. Bundesliga.
The head-to-head record is relatively close, although the clubs have not met since April 2014. Across 18 competitive meetings since 1996, Cottbus have won four, St. Pauli have won six and eight have ended in draws. The most recent meeting finished 1-1 in Cottbus, while St. Pauli’s last victory in the fixture came in a 3-0 home win in November 2013.
Team news
Energie Cottbus: Claus-Dieter Wollitz has almost a fully available squad for Sunday’s game. Erik Engelhardt and Julian Guttau remain sidelined with injuries, but there are no other major absences to report.
St. Pauli: Marcel Rapp has confirmed that Eric Smith and Connor Metcalfe are both expected to retain their places after making their first starts of the season together in the 1-0 victory over Wolfsburg. “The two played without question well. Therefore, you can assume that both will be allowed to play,” Rapp said.
Branimir Hrgota, Marcus Mathisen and Tomoya Ando are all back in the squad after missing the previous game, although Mathias Pereira Lage and Gísli Thórdarson remain unavailable.
Predicted lineups
Energie Cottbus (4-2-3-1): Lotka; Rorig, Manu, Erlein, Borgmann; Michelbrink, Bittencourt; Cigerci, Boziaris, Copado; Butler
St. Pauli (3-4-2-1): Voll; Nemeth, Mathisen, Ando; Pyrka, Fujita, Smith, Oppie; Niang, Metcalfe; Ceesay