FC St. Pauli

Before turning to Friday's crucial game at Kaiserslautern, head coach Ewald Lienen had some unwelcome news to announce: "Jeremy Dudziak will undergo surgery on his shoulder today. In consultation with our medical team we've decided to bring the operation forward in order to save time. We'd have to 'set the shoulder joint in concrete', so to speak, to allow him to play but then he'd have no freedom of movement." The operation will be conducted at the ENDO Clinic by shoulder specialist Dr Werner. Otherwise, with the exception of Joel Keller, Lienen has a full squad at his disposal.

The St. Pauli boss continued by expressing his satisfaction about how his team are "keeping their feet on the ground" after the superb 3-0 win over Heidenheim last week. "One thing is certain – the table is deceptive," he said. "So it's refreshing how focused and realistic the players are. Projections, be they positive or negative, make no sense and are a distraction."

What does make sense is taking a close look at Friday's opponents. Lienen has done just that, of course, and was full of praise for Norbert Meier's side. "They're very strong at the back," he said. "They're dangerous on the break and move the ball around well. They're also a threat from high balls, so we'll need to be careful there. They don't concede many goals either, which makes going to the Betzenberg a huge ask."

With this in mind, Lienen concluded: "We have to stay calm. It's like a final for both teams, of course, but we're confident because we've already gone to the limit in the last few games. That's the basis again now. What happens after is irrelevant for us at the moment."

Photo: Witters