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Bournemouth kick off their new season preparations with a friendly against St. Pauli at the Vitality Stadium on Friday afternoon.
The Cherries qualified for European football for the first time in their history last campaign, and will be aiming to build on that under the new management of Marco Rose.
Meanwhile, St. Pauli suffered a contrasting fate as they were relegated from the Bundesliga, but they have won all four pre-season friendlies they have played so far.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Bournemouth vs. St. Pauli key stats
- Bournemouth are unbeaten in all competitions since January.
- St. Pauli ended their Bundesliga season with four straight defeats.
- BTTS has come through in all four of St. Pauli's previous friendlies.
Bournemouth vs. St. Pauli preview: Cherries to start with a win?
Bournemouth vs St. Pauli — Tale of the Tape
| Bournemouth | vs | St. Pauli |
|---|---|---|
| 6th (Premier League) | Position | 18th (Bundesliga) |
| 57 | Points | 26 |
| 58 | Goals For | 29 |
| 54 | Goals Against | 60 |
| 11 | Clean Sheets | 5 |
| 12th | Home / Away Rank | 18th |
Bournemouth enter a new era under Rose, with Andoni Iraola now managing Liverpool.
The Spaniard did so much good work at the Vitality Stadium, including guiding them to a sixth-placed finish last season and European football.
Rose now has a tough job on his hands to maintain the standards set with the added games on top of that, but new signings like Alvaro Rodriguez are helping towards the rebuild.
Carlos Soler is Bournemouth's only injury concern, while players like Rayan, who played at the World Cup, are also unlikely to feature.
After two seasons in the Bundesliga, St. Pauli will play in Germany's second division this campaign.
They finished bottom of the table, and new manager Marcel Rapp has since been brought in to try and get them straight back up, like they did so as champions in 2023/24.
It has been a promising start with four wins from four in pre-season, but St. Pauli have not played opposition anywhere near the level of Bournemouth.
They will be underdogs here especially on away soil, but will aim to use their higher levels of fitness as an advantage.
Bournemouth vs. St. Pauli form guide & betting tips
| Bournemouth | vs | St. Pauli |
|---|---|---|
DWWDD |
Form | LWWWW |
| 8 | Goals For | 16 |
| 4 | Goals Against | 8 |
N/A |
Friendlies | WWW |
Whispers predicts: Bournemouth 3-1 St. Pauli
*odds unavailable at time of writing
While odds are unavailable at the time of writing, we are expecting Bournemouth to be installed as the favourites on home soil.
Our first recommended bet would be BTTS – Yes, given St. Pauli's higher fitness levels and the fact it has come through in all four of their friendlies so far.
Over 3.5 goals could also be worth looking out for, having come through in three of those matches.
Overall, we are predicting a Correct score 3-1, which would highlight the gulf in quality between the two teams.
> Over 3.5 goals at N/A | Likelihood: Possible
> BTTS – Yes at N/A | Likelihood: Possible
> Correct score – 3-1 at N/A | Likelihood: Outsider