FC St. Pauli 2026/27 season preview: Transfers, pre-season, predicted lineup & predictions

Following a promising 2024/25 campaign which saw Die Kiezkicker stay up (a feat not achieved by the club since the 1995/96 season!), St. Pauli came crashing back down to the 2. Bundesliga after a forgettable 6 win, 8 draw, and 20 loss season which saw them relegated as the bottom team in 2025/26.

Relegation has seen the departure of several players as well as head coach Alexander Blessin, who was dismissed in the weeks following the conclusion of the 2025/26 season. 

Despite the relegation and all the problems that come with it, there is still much to hope for at the Millerntor this season. 

New signings, a new head coach, and most importantly a new season – what can we expect to see from Die Kiezkicker (The Neighbourhood Kickers) in the 2026/27 season? 

Transfers

St. Pauli’s relegation has seen a large swathe of talent leave Hamburg this summer window. 

Undoubtedly the biggest name to depart (and also the most recent) is Jackson Irvine. With 153 appearances (his most tenured club), 15 goals and 21 assists, the Aussie established himself as a fan favourite having captained the side to promotion in the 2023/24 season and becoming an integral part of the community. 

His decision to request a transfer to Japanese side Cerezo Osaka came as quite a surprise to many, especially given that the transfer was announced less than a week prior to St. Pauli’s first season fixture. 

Other holes were blasted in the lineup sheet with the departures of Nikola Vasilj to Al-Diriyah for free (167 appearances, 43 clean sheets), Karol Mets to Bochum for free (91 appearances), Manolis Saliakas to Olympiacos for €1.3mil (120 appearances), Hauke Wahl to Wolfsburg for €2m (105 appearances), and Daniel Sinani to Sampdoria for free (70 appearances). 

In terms of signings, St. Pauli acquired veteran striker Branimir Hrgota from Fürth. Hrgota, Fürth’s all-time leading goalscorer in the top 2 divisions of the German game (69 goals and 41 assists in 238 appearances), will add a much needed scoring boost to St. Pauli as well as a veteran presence following the departure of Irvine. 

The Bosnian striker also notoriously took Fürth back to the Bundesliga (for just the second time in their history!) in 2020/21 with 16 goals and 7 assists and is an extremely promising signing, especially given that he was acquired for free. 

St. Pauli also added tenured Magdeburg centre-back Marcus Mathisen for free, a much needed addition to the team’s backline. 

Lastly, St. Pauli appointed new head coach Marcel Rapp from Holstein Kiel. The 47 year-old coach gives St. Pauli fans much hope having previously coached Kiel to their first-ever Bundesliga promotion just 2 years ago in 2023/24 – funnily enough the same season that St. Pauli won the league! 

Pre-season

St. Pauli’s pre-season tour gave us an early insight into Rapp’s new structure, and there is definitely some excitement and promise for this iteration of the team. 

The opening game of their pre-season tour was a characteristic matchup against fellow city side Altona 93, decisively defeating them 2-6. The following match pitted St. Pauli against Regionalliga Nord side Kickers Emden, where St. Pauli were able to scratch out a 1-3 victory. 

The third pre-season match and the last against German opposition came against Babelsberg, with whom St. Pauli supporters famously have a strong fan friendship. St. Pauli decisively beat the Regionalliga Nordost outfit in a 1-4 victory, including a first-half hattrick from Abdoulie Ceesay. 

The first game against European opposition came against Croatian side Gorica, ending in a 2-1 victory for St. Pauli with goals from Louis Oppie and Ricky-Jade Jones. Ceesay, having just come off a hattrick performance against Babelsberg in the previous game, was injured during the game, suffering a capsule-ligament injury in his right ankle. 

The penultimate pre-season game pitted St. Pauli against Premier League and Europa League side Bournemouth, with the English club coming out as the dominant side in a 4-1 routing in Austria. Kaars opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, before the team petered out by conceding 4 goals in 27 minutes, marking the Hamburg side’s first and only defeat. 

St. Pauli’s Millerntor debut came against recently promoted LaLiga side Deportivo de A Coruña, which ended in a 2-2 draw. In their final pre-season matchup, St. Pauli took the lead twice first with Taichi Hara and then with Kaars, but ultimately were unable to hold on after an 84th minute equalizer from the Spaniards. 

Predicted lineup

Rapp will almost certainly retain a 3-at-the-back formation, and with Eric Smith’s fitness still uncertain heading into the season opener against Fürth, we could expect either Tomoya Ando or Adam Dzwigala to start at the back in the meantime. 

In the midfield, Fujita will likely start in the centre with either Rasmussen or Metcalfe, with Pyrka and Oppie on either flank. Lars Ritzka and Erik Ahlstrand provide solid backup options in the middle. 

Up front, we can expect Hrgota to be paired up with either Jones, Hara or Ceesay (when he eventually returns) with Kaars leading at the top. 

Considering the amount of players that have departed in addition to the multiple absences in the squad, St. Pauli have still managed to retain a strong core of players with reliable backup options. Predicted lineup (3-4-2-1): Voll – Nemeth, Mathisen, Ando – Pyrka, Rasmussen, Fujita, Oppie – Hrgota, Jones – Kaars 

Predictions

Not to panic St. Pauli fans, but the last time the team was relegated before last season (all the way back in 2010/11), it took the club 13 years to make their return to the Bundesliga. In fact, the fastest time it took for St. Pauli to return to the Bundesliga was 4 years (accomplished twice during the 90s/early 2000s). 

But perhaps there is reason to believe that this relegation will be different. 

Despite the losses of key talent across the board, St. Pauli have still retained a strong core of players that are capable of competing; if the pre-season showed us anything, it’s that St. Pauli can still punch above their weight. In fact, St. Pauli actually boasts the 2. Bundesliga’s 2nd highest-value squad, only behind VfL Wolfsburg (albeit, with a gap of nearly €200mil). 

A return to the Bundesliga is certainly on the cards for St. Pauli, but competition this season will be stiff. With Wolfsburg the likely title favourite, the fight for 2nd and 3rd place is gearing up to be a dogfight with teams like Hannover and fellow Bundesliga relegation side Heidenheim in the mix.

Overall, we can expect St. Pauli to finish no worse than at least the top six, with a genuine top three chance if the new arrivals and tactics settle quickly.