Pauli have done it! Hartel's goal seals the deal on a 10th straight Bundesliga 2 win, and it's a hugely significant one in terms of promotion. Heidenheim slip down to third, with Pauli now just four points further behind.

The home side resume the game, no changes from either side during the interval.

The visitors will obviously be the happier of the two teams at the interval thanks to Marcel Hartel's stunning strike into the top corner. It had been evenly contested until then, but will it change the dynamic in the second half?

Neither side has been able to settle into a rhythm as yet. Lots of challenges and high balls but not much by way of goalmouth action.

Pauli, kitted out all in white, get the action started.

All 11 starters for Heidenheim are German, whereas just two of St. Pauli's players are. The others hail from eight different countries: Bosnia, Greece, Croatia, Estonia, Kosovo, Poland, Australia and England.

Müller - Busch, Mainka, Siersleben, Föhrenbach - Maloney - Pick, Schöppner, Thomalla, Beste - Kleindienst

Eicher, Theuerkauf, Geipl, Sessa, Burnic, Köther, Keller, Schimmer, Kühlwetter

Vasilj - Dzwigala, Medic, Mets - Saliakas, Irvine, Hartel, Paqarada - Metcalfe, Daschner, Afolayan

Burchert, Fazliji, Beifus, Zander, Ritzka, Aremu, Eggestein, Saad, Otto

These teams have an almost identical record in previous fixtures. Of the 17 Bundesliga 2 encounters to date, both have won seven times, with three draws. Heidenheim marginally edge it on goals, having scored 24 to Pauli's 21. Heidenheim also won the first six meetings against Pauli on their own patch, but have lost the last two, conceding four times in each game.

"St. Pauli play with different formations and a new 3-4-3 system, which is implemented very flexibly," said head coach Frank Schmidt at his press conference on Thursday. "They’re good in possession and have a very high pass completion rate. It's outstanding that they have only conceded three goals in nine games, and if they continue to score regularly, they will be at the top of the table.”

"They don't have any real weaknesses in my view," said head coach Fabian Hürzeler at his media briefing earlier in the week. "They work and tackle extremely hard and switch the play really well. They punish individual errors very effectively. They're also extremely dangerous from set pieces. On top of all their tactical ability, they also have players of huge individual quality. We know how strong they are at home. It's a big challenge for us. For me, Heidenheim are the league's most complete team and Frank Schmidt is an incredible coach."

St. Pauli have not been on the promotion radar for much of this season - even at the start of March few pundits would have called them serious contenders. And yet an astonishing winning run, comprising all nine Bundesliga 2 games in 2023, has thrust them firmly into the mix. They've scored 17 and conceded just three in that period, so are very much the form side coming into this one.

To put this game into context, well, it's a big one. Heidenheim are currently second in the table on 51 points, four behind leaders Darmstadt and one ahead of third-placed Hamburg. Pauli are in fourth on 44 points, so really need a victory here if they're to have any hope of promotion. Remember, the top two go up automatically and the team that finishes third faces a two-legged play-off against the third-bottom team in the Bundesliga.

Thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this promotion six-pointer between Heidenheim and St. Pauli!