Borussia Dortmund ended last season in style so they will be looking to kick off the new Bundesliga campaign with a win when they head to Hamburg to take on St Pauli.
Having reached the Champions League Final in season 2023/24, it was a major surprise to see Dortmund toiling so badly last term and they were sitting in 11th place when Nico Kovac replaced Nuri Sahin at the end of January.
The Croatian did a superb job galvanising a dispirited side and Borussia eventually finished fourth, pipping Freiburg by two points in a dramatic finale, to preserve their Champions League place.
Dortmund won 11 of their final 15 games in a season that was extended by the Club World Cup and got off to a winning start in 2025/26 by beating Rott-Weiss Essen in the DFB Pokal last weekend.
I thought Kovac's side would win that one pretty comfortably but it took a late Serhou Guirassy strike to spare their blushes.
St Pauli had an even bigger scare in their cup tie with minnows Eintracht Norderstedt and needed penalties to progress after a 0-0 stalemate.
They finished 14th in the Bundesliga last term after winning promotion so it would be a surprise if they claimed the scalp of Dortmund on day one.
How the bookies view it: No Dortmund slip-up
After finishing last season so well, Borussia Dortmund are BoyleSports' 4/5 favourites. St Pauli are priced at 15/4 and the stalemate pays 13/5.
Recent head to head: Borussia bossing it
Dortmund have dominated this fixture of late, winning five of the last six meetings. They beat St Pauli 2-0 in Hamburg last term after a 2-1 victory at the Westfalen.
Players to watch: Guirassy in the groove
Dortmund goal machine Guirassy netted 38 times last term and is already off the mark for the new campaign. The striker is 20/21 at BoyleSports for another goal here and that looks decent value.
Mathias Pereira Lage is a summer signing for St Pauli, having arrived from French side Brest. He started up front in the cup last week and is 9/2 at Bet365 to mark his Bundesliga debut with a goal.
Probable line-ups
Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Sule, Emre Can and Julien Duranville missed out last week for Dortmund and should be absent again. St Pauli are set to be without Jackson Irvine, Ricky-Jade Jones and Karol Mets.
St Pauli: Vasilj, Nemeth, Wahl, Smith, Sands, Pyrka, Fujita, Oppie, Sinani, Afolayan, Pereira Lage.
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Anton, Bensebaini, Mane, Couto, Brandt, Bellingham, Sabitzer, Svensson, Guirassy, Adeyemi.
Anything else catch the eye?
Drawing a blank against fourth-tier Eintracht Norderstedt will be a concern for St Pauli and that makes a Dortmund win to nil worth a punt at a boosted 9/4 with BoyleSports.
Both meetings last term produced just eight corners so there could also be some value in backing under nine flag kicks in this game at 6/5 with Bet365.
Dortmund took a while to get going last weekend so backing most goals to come after the break might be another shrewd option. That bet pays evens with BoyleSports.
GambleAware