FC St. Pauli

Portuguese promise

Like last week's opponents Karlsruhe, the Lions appointed a new coach during the winter break. New at the helm since 1 January is Vitor Pereira, who has breathed new life into the team. The 48-year-old Portuguese coach got off to a promising start with a 2-1 home win over Greuther Fürth and has guided them to nine points from a possible 15 since taking charge. Pereira is optimistic about the future and has promised to take the club to a new level. His record so far, a clear improvement on the first half of the season, certainly speaks for him.

In-form teams

If we go by the table for the second half of the season, Saturday's encounter is a genuine top-of-the-table clash. Ewald Lienen's side are third in this ranking with ten points from five matches, while 1860 are fifth just one point behind. The head-to-head record gives no pointers for the outcome of the game. Of the 19 meetings in the second division, both teams have won eight times and three games have ended all square. Fittingly, the goal difference is level at 26-26 and the most recent fixture finished 2-2.

Bad boys

A look at the fair play table reveals that the Lions have collected by far the most bookings, having racked up 71 yellow cards in their 22 matches. They have yet to have a player sent off, however. Four more teams, including the Boys in Brown, are also on no red cards. Three 1860 players share the lead for the most cautions. Jan Mauersberger, Daniel Adlung and Maximilian Wittek are all on seven yellows, while midfielder Kai Bülow is one caution away from a suspension with four. On our side, only centre-back Lasse Sobiech is on the verge of a one-match ban after accumulating four yellow cards thus far.

Fortress Munich

The main reason 1860 have their noses in front in the table is their home form. The Munich outfit have won six and drawn two of their 11 home matches to date. Their last defeat at the Allianz Arena was a 3-1 reverse against Fortuna Düsseldorf in week nine. Since then Vitor Pereira's charges have gone seven games unbeaten at home. Nevertheless, the Boys in Brown travel to the Bavarian capital in confident mood, having taken seven points from their last three away matches.

Consistent

The Lions have occupied 14^th place in the table since matchday 12 – apart from the first weekend after the winter break when they moved up one place. A 2-1 defeat at Arminia Bielefeld a week later soon saw them drop down again, however. The Lions have no need to worry about slipping further down the table on Saturday, as they go into the game with a four-point cushion over the Boys in Brown.

Photo: Witters