FC St. Pauli vs Borussia Mönchengladbach Prediction

Right then, let's have a proper look at this one. We've got ourselves a proper six-pointer here, though looking at the table, it's more like a three-pointer between two sides who've been having a shocker of a season.

St. Pauli are sitting 14th with a measly 7 points from 8 games, while Gladbach are propping up the entire Bundesliga with just 3 points. Absolutely woeful stuff from both teams, and someone's got to start climbing the table sometime.

Looking at recent form, neither side exactly fills you with confidence. St. Pauli have managed just 2 wins in their last 10 games, and they've been leaking goals like there's no tomorrow - 15 conceded in that period. Their recent run is proper grim too: lost to Frankfurt (2-0), got hammered by Hoffenheim (3-0), and could only manage a 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim in the cup. They're scoring less than a goal per game on average, which just won't cut it.

Gladbach? Well, they're somehow even worse defensively. Twenty-one goals shipped in their last 10 games! That's over two goals per game, absolutely shocking for a top-flight side. They did manage a win in their last game though, beating Karlsruher 3-1 in the cup, but before that they'd lost 3-0 to Bayern and 3-1 to Union Berlin. Like St. Pauli, they're struggling to find the net consistently.

Here's the thing that jumps out at me - both teams' defensive records are absolutely appalling. St. Pauli are conceding 2 goals per game at home, while Gladbach are letting in nearly 2 per game away from home. Neither side can keep a clean sheet to save their lives - just 2 each in their last 10 matches.

The head-to-head doesn't give us much to go on with only 4 meetings ever, but the last one was a 1-1 draw, which tells its own story.

Given both teams' desperation for points and their inability to defend properly, I'm expecting an open game where both sides get chances. The stats suggest both teams should score, and at 1.74, that looks like decent value to me. Sometimes the best bets are the simple ones, and when you've got two teams with defences this porous, both teams scoring seems like the smart money.

Key Points:

• Both teams are in the relegation zone with terrible form

• St. Pauli: 2 wins in last 10, 15 goals conceded

• Gladbach: 2 wins in last 10, 21 goals conceded (shocking!)

• Both teams have kept only 2 clean sheets each in last 10 games

• St. Pauli conceding 2.0 goals per game at home

• Gladbach conceding 1.75 goals per game away

Both teams are desperate for a win, both have leaky defences, and both have shown they can score (even if not consistently). I'm backing both teams to get on the scoresheet in what should be an open, if not exactly high-quality, affair.