The hosts had to wait until the 80th minute to break the deadlock against Bochum, but they were deserving winners as they created five big chances while preventing their opponents from generating any of their own.

Werder Bremen enter Sunday's clash with three clean sheets in their last four matches, contrasting with conceding 19 goals in the seven games before that.

Under manager Ole Werner, the team sits two points behind sixth-placed Mainz 05 and three points from fifth-placed Freiburg, who hold the Bundesliga's Conference League and Europa League spots respectively.

The Green-Whites have secured victories in their last four games with a combined score of 8-1, though they lost six of the previous seven.

Werner's squad has also won their two most recent home games at Weserstadion, maintaining clean sheets in both, but they were defeated in the three matches prior.

Meanwhile, the visitors drew 1-1 with champions Bayer Leverkusen on April 20, outshining them with more shots (10), shots on target (5), and higher expected goals (1.09).

St. Pauli have kept a clean sheet in only one of their past six outings, but they have scored in six straight fixtures after failing to do so in the four before that.

The Kiezkicker remain winless in their last four encounters against Werder Bremen, with three draws and a 2-0 loss in the league on December 14.

Head coach Alexander Blessin has guided his team to a solid finish, suffering just one defeat in his last six matches and securing two wins.

St. Pauli are unbeaten in their past three away games, with two draws, though they lost the two before that.

Centre-back Milos Veljkovic is Werder Bremen's only injury concern, so expect Niklas Stark, Marco Friedl, and Amos Pieper to form the back three.

Jens Stage, Senne Lynen, and Romano Schmid featured in midfield last time and are likely to keep their places in the starting lineup.

Strikers Oliver Burke and Marvin Ducksch have started together in the hosts' last four matches, making their inclusion on Sunday highly probable.

St. Pauli must deal with injuries to midfielders Jackson Irvine and James Sands, potentially leading to Carlo Boukhalfa and Eric Smith starting in a double pivot.

Goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj may be shielded by defenders David Nemeth, Hauke Wahl, and Siebe Van der Heyden, as centre-back Karol Mets and goalkeeper Sascha Burchert are also out.

Striker Simon Zoller's calf injury will keep him sidelined until early May, which could see Danel Sinani starting alongside attackers Noah Weisshaupt and Morgan Guilavogui.

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Zetterer; Stark, Friedl, Pieper; Weiser, Stage, Lynen, Schmid, Agu; Burke, Ducksch

St. Pauli possible starting lineup:

Vasilj; Nemeth, Wahl, Van der Heyden; Saliakas, Boukhalfa, Smith, Treu; Weisshaupt, Sinani, Guilavogui