FC St. Pauli

Reunion with Basti and Tschauni

In Philipp Tschauner and Sebastian Maier, two familiar faces return to the Millerntor on Saturday. Goalkeeper Tschauner moved to Hannover in 2015 and spent his first season as the deputy to Germany stopper Ron-Robert Zieler. When Zieler joined English champions Leicester City last summer, Tschauner slotted into the vacated position. Apart from two games missed due to injury, the 31-year-old has played every minute in goal. Maier made the switch to Hannover in the close season. The attacking midfielder has made 13 appearances and registered two goals and two others to date.

Coach Daniel Stendel

Though Daniel Stendel's side went top after the first game in 2017, their form has been indifferent since then. The seven games this year have produced three wins, a draw and three defeats, which means Hannover are now "only" third, in the play-off place, with 45 points. Club secretary Martin Bader and squad planner Christian Möckel had to go as a result, and Horst Heldt was appointed the new director of sport. After his first game in office, the 1-0 home defeat of 1860 Munich), Heldt refused to make a clear statement backing Stendel, who wore the St. Pauli shirt 15 times and scored two goals in the 2006/2007 season. Club chairman Martin Kind did make clear that Stendel would be in charge at the Millerntor, however.

Prolific Harnik

Martin Harnik has blossomed again in his first season at Hannover. After a mediocre return of just three goals in 21 competitive appearances for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga last term, the striker has already netted 13 times this season. Nine of these goals have come at home, four away. Harnik, 29, thus ranks third in the goalscoring charts behind Stuttgart striker Simon Terodde (15 goals) and former Nürnberg hitman Guido Burgstaller (14 goals/now FC Schalke 04). Aziz Bouhaddouz, our leading scorer with ten goals, sits in seventh place.

Karaman sidelined, Sorg fit again

Striker Kenan Karaman is an established fixture in Daniel Stendel's team. Sixteen starts and eight substitute appearances mean he has yet to miss a game, but after stretching a ligament in his left ankle against 1860 he will now be out for some time. On the other hand, right-back Oliver Sorg, who has won 61 per cent of his challenges so far, has recovered from a ruptured eardrum and is available to face the Boys in Brown.

No-nonsense Sané

Hannover have committed 461 fouls this season, more than any other team in the league. By comparison, the Boys in Brown have registered just 342 infringements, the lowest of any team. With 55 yellow and two red cards, Hannover rank fifth from bottom in the fair play table. Their strongest tackler is Salif Sané, who has won 68.1 per cent of his duels, which puts him in third place in the league behind Sandhausen's Daniel Gordon (70.4 per cent) and Dresden's Florian Ballas (68.7 per cent). In comparison, Lasse Sobiech is St. Pauli's best tackler with 62.1 per cent of duels won (14^th place).

Dangerous from the bench

Daniel Stendel has been reasonably successful with his substitutions this season. In Martin Harnik, Kenan Karaman and Niclas Füllkrug, three players have scored twice after coming on. Hannover are generally a team of late goals, having hit the target just 11 times before the break. After the interval it is a different story, with 29 goals coming in the second half, four of them in stoppage time. A total of 40 goals scored puts Hannover in second place in the league rankings, with only leaders Stuttgart celebrating more often (41).

Head-to-head

The visitors have the edge in the head-to-head record. Of the 27 meetings in the second division to date, the Boys in Brown have won nine, six have ended all square, and Hannover have won 12. The Lower Saxony outfit also lead in terms of goals scored (38-26). Our last home win over Hannover dates back 17 years, a 2-1 win in the 1994/95 season. However, the Boys in Brown have never lost twice in one season against them.

Photo: Witters