St. Pauli vs FC Koln prediction 17.04.2026 | Bundesliga

After two seasons in the Bundesliga, St. Pauli are in danger of returning to the second tier. They are in the relegation playoff position with three points fewer than safety. St. Pauli's form isn't providing enough confidence, either, as they collected only two points in the last five matches. In the previous game, Alexander Blessin's team lost 5-0 at home against Bayern Munich. The best team in the competition completely outplayed St. Pauli, who will have to do much better in the coming weeks. 

Recently, St. Pauli have had many problems on both sides of the pitch. They scored only two goals, while conceding ten in the previous five games. Even St. Pauli defender Hauke Wahl spoke after the most recent outing, noting the individual mistakes his team is making. With only five rounds of the Bundesliga remaining, Alexander Blessin and his side need an urgent turnaround. Otherwise, they risk slipping into the second tier next season.

St. Pauli's Joel Fujita received another yellow card in the previous Bundesliga round and will serve his suspension on Friday night. He will join already unavailable Ricky-Jade Jones, Manolis Saliakas, James Sands, and Eric Smith. 

After one season in the German top flight, FC Koln are in danger of returning to 2. Bundesliga. They currently sit five points clear of the relegation playoff spot, but a win in Hamburg on Friday night could provide some much-needed breathing room and put them in a far more secure position. FC Koln struggled recently with eight games in a row without a victory. They ended the negative streak last weekend, when Rene Wagner's team won 3-1 at home against Werder Bremen. The guests played with ten players for almost 70 minutes, so the hosts dominated and secured a valuable victory.  

After terrible results in February and March, FC Koln sacked Lukas Kwasniok and appointed Rene Wagner as the interim head coach. In his first two matches, Wagner led FC Koln to four points against Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen, and it seems that the team is making serious progress with him. 

Timo Hubers and Luca Kilian are injured and will not play on Friday at Millerntor-Stadion.