Bochum and St Pauli could kick off season in style

Bundesliga 2 BT Sport 2, 7.30pm Friday

Bochum and St Pauli kick off the new Bundesliga 2 season and it could be a lively encounter.

The pair have looked sharp in pre-season – particularly Bochum who smashed in 17 goals in their last three warm-up games – while St Pauli have won all five of their friendlies against a selection of German and Austrian lower-league outfits.

It would be folly to read too much into those results but a glance at recent league encounters also suggests viewers could be in for a treat.

Both sides have scored in five of the last six duels while eight of the last nine meetings have featured at least two goals.

It’s 3-4 with Ladbrokes that both teams get on the scoresheet but Betfair’s 11-10 for the match to feature at least three goals looks the way to go.

St Pauli scored at least twice in five of their six pre-season outings and have dominated recent meetings with Bochum.

Only once have the Hamburg men been beaten in their last eight encounters with Bochum and they are sure to be well supported on the match markets.

However, at such an early stage it may be wise to err on the side of caution until more reliable form is available.

Both sides will hope to make more of an impression on the promotion battle this season with Bochum having finished ninth and St Pauli seventh last term and they will be keen to get off on the right foot.

The corresponding fixture last season finished 3-1 to St Pauli and a similar outcome wouldn’t be a surprise.

Bochum will hope to have new signing Robbie Kruse available after he made his return to German football.

The former Leverkusen, Stuttgart and Fortuna Dusseldorf striker had been playing in China and has 58 caps for Australia, most recently in this summer’s Confederations Cup.

The 28-year-old is 15-2 to open the scoring and 5-2 to bag at any time with bet365.

Recommendation
Over 2.5 goals
2pts 11-10 Betfair

Bet on this match at Soccerbase.com