St. Pauli find themselves in a desperate fight for Bundesliga survival, currently occupying the relegation playoff spot with just 26 points from 31 matches. A seven-game winless streak has left them five points adrift of safety, with Hamburger SV and FC Köln sitting comfortably in 15th and 14th place. The situation is even more precarious when you consider the bottom three are breathing down their necks—St. Pauli are only one point clear of Wolfsburg and four ahead of basement side Heidenheim.

Their final-day showdown at home against Wolfsburg could be a winner-takes-all relegation battle, but ideally, Alexander Blessin's side will look to build some breathing room in their next two fixtures against Mainz and Leipzig. Last weekend's disappointing 2-0 defeat to relegation rivals Heidenheim only added to the pressure, and the team knows they need a result this Saturday.

History, however, is not on their side. St. Pauli haven't beaten Mainz since May 2009, a statistic they'll be desperate to change. On the injury front, the hosts will be without James Sands, Mathias Pereira Lage, and Ricky-Jade Jones.

Predicted St. Pauli lineup: Vasilj; Ando, Wahl, Mets; Saliakas, Smith, Irvine, Pyrka; Sinani, Fujita, Hountondji

Mainz, meanwhile, sit in 10th place with a record of eight wins, 10 draws, and 13 losses. While they're not directly in the relegation mix, they're not exactly cruising either—eight points clear of St. Pauli but nine points adrift of the European spots, making this largely a battle for mid-table positioning.

Urs Fischer's side travel to Millerntor-Stadion hoping to snap a four-match winless run across all competitions. After a 1-0 defeat to Freiburg and a heavy 4-0 loss to Strasbourg in the Conference League semi-final second leg, Die Nullfünfer returned to Bundesliga action with a 1-1 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach. That was followed by a dramatic 4-3 loss to champions Bayern Munich, where Mainz squandered a three-goal halftime lead in stunning fashion.