FC St. Pauli

Suspended

In the final game before the international break, Erzgebirge Aue secured a point in a 1-1 draw at Karlsruher SC. The spotlight was very much on Jan Hochscheidt in that game. The versatile attacking player gave his side an early lead but was sent off just before the interval for a foul on Marco Thiede, an infringement that led to him being handed a two-match ban. As a result, the Violets will be without their most effective player (four goals, two assists). That is good for us, as Hochscheidt has found the net more times (four) against the Boys in Brown than any other club.

Bogey team

Erzgebirge Aue may be our bogey team, but Jos Luhukay is not their favourite coach. While Aue's record against the Boys in Brown is more than positive, with ten wins, five draws and just two defeats, against sides coached by Luhukay it is negative. The Violets have won just four of the 12 matches they have played against the St. Pauli boss, losing all of the other eight.

Sharpshooters

When it comes to the number of attempts on goal (153, of which 41 were blocked), the Violets are third bottom ahead of Dynamo Dresden (145) and Wehen Wiesbaden (152). In terms of accuracy, however, they occupy second place. Sixty-one of their 112 completed attempts on goal were on target (54.5 per cent). Only Bielefeld (55.6 per cent) have been more accurate so far. Aue are in the leading pack when it comes to converting their chances, too. The Violets sit fourth in this ranking on 17.9 per cent, behind Bielefeld (23.4 per cent), Regensburg (20.7 per cent) and HSV (19.6 per cent).

Challenges

With 13 games gone, the Violets occupy an impressive fifth place on 20 points. In the process, Dirk Schuster's side have proved that you don't necessarily need a high tackles-won ratio to be successful. The Saxony outfit have won 1,111 of their 2,359 duels (47.1 per cent), which leaves them bottom of the second division rankings in this category along with Wehen Wiesbaden.

Corners

In Greuther Fürth, Holstein Kiel, Hannover 96 and VfL Osnabrück, four teams have yet to score from a corner this season. The Boys in Brown have scored once from their 79 corners (Dimitrios Diamantakos at Dresden). Along with Osnabrück, the Violets have forced the fewest corners (47) but have scored four times. In Karlsruhe (8 goals from 73 corners), Stuttgart (6 from 79) and Bochum (5 from 51), only four teams have scored more often from corners.

Morale

Erzgebirge Aue are the only team to have come from behind to win twice this season. Dirk Schuster's side conceded first in the Saxony derby against Dynamo Dresden but went on to win 4-1. And in mid-October they beat Nürnberg 4-3 at home. After a scoreless first half, the visitors opened the scoring but Aue hit back with two goals, only for Nürnberg to restore parity. Aue then restored their advantage, but Nürnberg equalised again in time added on. The Violets still had time to retake the lead with a fourth goal, but that wasn't the end of it. An incredible game was capped by a penalty save from Aue keeper Martin Männel in the tenth minute of stoppage time!

Martin Männel was the hero after the 4-3 home defeat of Nürnberg.

Photos: Eibner