Gladbach vs. St. Pauli DFB-Pokal preview: Team news and predicted lineups

After a disastrous start to the season, Borussia Mönchengladbach have turned a corner since Eugen Polanski replaced Gerard Seoane as head coach.

Die Fohlen are now on a five-game unbeaten run, having won four of those matches, and they will be determined to keep that momentum going when they face struggling FC St. Pauli in the round of 16 of the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday.

St. Pauli advanced in the cup at the end of October via a penalty shootout win over Hoffenheim, but have otherwise lost every match since their 2-1 victory over Augsburg on September 14.

Alexander Blessin’s men surprisingly went ahead early against Bayern Munich at the weekend, but ultimately fell 3-1, suffering their ninth consecutive league defeat.

Interestingly, Polanski and Gladbach’s first league win of the season came against St. Pauli, with Die Fohlen securing a 4-0 victory at the Millerntor-Stadion in early November.

However, Polanski insists that result holds no significance for the upcoming cup tie.

"We have to erase the Bundesliga result from our minds. That will help us zero, absolutely zero," Polanski said on Monday, underlining that he sees St. Pauli as a strong team despite their slump.

"The league table might suggest otherwise, but St. Pauli are simply a good side," he said.

"It will be a really dangerous game. We want to focus on our strengths."

Gladbach will be without Florian Neuhaus due to muscular problems, with Jens Castrop also “very likely” to miss the match due to illness, Polanski revealed.

Fabio Chiarodia, Nathan Ngoumou, Jonas Omlin, Philipp Sander and Jan Urbich are also unavailable for the home side.

For St. Pauli, long-term absentee David Nemeth remains sidelined, while Andreas Hountondji is expected to miss the game after being forced off with thigh problems following his opener against Bayern at the weekend.

Click here to see our predicted Gladbach vs. St. Pauli lineups.