FC St. Pauli

The opening whistle on Monday evening will mark the start of four exacting weeks for the Boys in Brown. Next up after Nürnberg is a trip to Ingolstadt, and then Holstein Kiel pay a visit to Hamburg. And as if that weren't tough enough, the Boys in Brown then go to Fortuna Düsseldorf. The next four games really pack a punch, then, but what could be nicer than rising to the challenge and overcoming obstacles together?

So, what will it take to secure a win on Monday? Captain Bernd Nehrig has an inkling: "We have some hard work ahead of us," he said. "We'll have to throw everything at it, both in attack and defence. We need to give 100%, and if we do that, with the fans behind us, we have a chance. In the reverse fixture we managed to keep a clean sheet, so we're looking forward to the game." And, as everyone knows, what the skipper says goes.

If we look at the league table, it should come as no surprise that Michael Köllner's team travel to Hamburg brimming with confidence. The Franconians sit in second place, are the best side in the league away from home and haven't lost in eight matches. Nürnberg's promotion ambitions may have been a little nebulous at times during the first half of the season, but they underlined their intent in the winter break by bringing in Ulisses Garcia from Werder Bremen, Marvin Stefaniak from Wolfsburg, and Federico Palacios from Leipzig. If they do want to go up, though, they will have to get past the Boys in Brown first.

And this is the key point. They are several reasons why Markus Kauczinski's side could find themselves celebrating in front of the South Stand late on Monday evening. First, they know how to play against Nürnberg from the reverse fixture. Second, after two defeats on the bounce they are determined to show what they can do and get back on track. The third and most important reason was provided by Nehrig, however. "Monday night under floodlights in front of a full house – there's nothing better. We're looking forward to it."

Photo: Witters