Emphasis on defence as St Pauli and Bochum clash

Bundesliga 2
BT Sport 1, 7.30pm Monday

St Pauli look shaky favourites at a short price to beat Bochum given they are on an eight-match winless run. But the visitors don't convince on the road either and the best betting approach could be to anticipate a low-scoring clash.

These teams met in the opening round of the Bundesliga 2 season, when St Pauli took the points with a 1-0 victory.

Their away form hasn't been too shabby - at least until their last two outings, a 4-0 defeat at Greuther Furth and 5-0 whipping at Arminia Bielefeld.

But performances at home have cost them as they slip towards the relegation zone. They have recorded just one win at their Millerntor-Stadion home, although five of their eight home fixtures have been draws.

Bochum have moved up to mid-table after back-to-back wins over Union Berlin and Jahn Regensburg ended their own sequence of six league and cup matches without a win.

They have struggled on their travels, and their tally of six goals in nine away matches is the joint-lowest in the division. But they are a much tighter ship defensively since Jens Rasiejewski replaced Ismail Atalan as coach in October, conceding four goals in their last eight matches.

St Pauli head coach Markus Kauczinski has been in his post for an even shorter time having taken the reins at the start of the month, and the players have spoken about the new boss's emphasis on staying compact in defence. All the signs point to a tight contest.

Recommendation
Under 2.5 goals
1pt 8-11 general

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