FC St. Pauli

Despite being behind for 55 minutes Markus Kauczinski's side never gave up in their last home run-out against Holstein Kiel, producing a spirited performance to come from behind and win 3-2 thanks to a late Christopher Avevor header. His goal made it three wins out of three in this season's northern derbies after victories in the reverse fixtures against Kiel (1-0) and Eintracht Braunschweig (2-0). An unblemished record that will hopefully continue against Eintracht this Saturday.

Braunschweig are more than welcome visitors to the Millerntor, as the Boys in Brown have enjoyed more success against them than against any other second division team (W11, D3, L3). The last two meetings against the Lions (both away) also ended in victory for FCSP, 2-1 in February 2017 and 2-0 in October of the same year.

Head coach Markus Kauczinski will be without no fewer than eight players for the return fixture, though, Waldemar Sobota and Lasse Sobiech having joined the injury list after the 2-1 defeat at Fortuna Düsseldorf. Sobiech will be disappointed to miss out against his favourite opponents (three goals in eight games), but on the positive side Bernd Nehrig is back from suspension and almost certain to make his 250^th second division appearance.

That Düsseldorf reverse was the first in four games after the Boys in Brown had taken seven points off promotion-chasing Nürnberg, Ingolstadt and Kiel. Braunschweig, on the other hand, picked up an important 2-1 home win over Jahn Regensburg to extend the gap to 16^th and the relegation play-off place to three points. The Lions remain anchored in the bottom half of the half, however, despite boasting the second-meanest defence in the league and suffering just seven defeats (only the leading trio of Düsseldorf, Nürnberg and Kiel have lost less often). Eleven draws in 25 games are the reason why Torsten Lieberknecht's side are no higher than 12^th.

Eintracht come to the Millerntor, then, looking to secure another win to continue their ascent up the table. But the Boys in Brown are just as motivated to secure the three points and maintain their 100% northern derby record. A fourth win in the fourth derby would be a significant step towards second-division safety.

Photos: Witters