FC St. Pauli

No spectacle

A quick look at their goal difference will tell you that games involving SV Sandhausen are not exactly what you would call magnificent spectacles. Their first eight league matches have produced a meagre 15 goals (goal difference: 4-11) – the lowest in the division. The first 45 minutes of their games have been particularly uneventful, with just four goals being scored for a goal difference of 1-3. In comparison, matches contested by the Boys in Brown have generated a total of 13 first-half goals (goal difference: 5-8). Only games involving Jahn Regensburg have seen the net bulge more often before the break (10-8), while those featuring Greuther Fürth have seen the fewest goal celebrations (1-0) in the opening 45.

Meagre points haul

Sandhausen have not enjoyed the start to the season they would have wanted. Seven points from eight games leaves them labouring in 16^th place. At the same stage last season, they sat fifth with 14 points from their first eight matches. Kenan Kocak's side have won just once this term, losing five and drawing two. That victory a fortnight ago, a 2-0 success at Aue, ended a run of 11 games without a win in all competitions.

Consistency the key

Since gaining promotion in 2012, Sandhausen have established themselves in the second division with a series of consistent campaigns. They have finished between 10^th and 13^th in each of the last five seasons, garnering between 39 and 44 points every time. Only in their debut season did things not go to plan. After finishing next to bottom on 26 points, Sandhausen would normally have been relegated but because MSV Duisburg were refused a licence and 16^th-placed Dynamo Dresden overcame third division VfL Osnabrück in the promotion/relegation play-off, they were granted a reprieve.

Bags of experience

In Stefan Kulovits, Sandhausen have fielded the second-oldest player in the division this season. The club captain was 35 years, five months and 11 days old when Sandhausen lost 1-0 at home to Magdeburg last time out. Only Aue's Christian Tiffert has been around longer. The midfielder was 36 years, seven months and 11 days old when the Violets lost 1-0 at Paderborn last Saturday, and thus exactly 14 months older than Kulovits.

Followers galore

Sandhausen's Rurik Gislason represented Iceland at the 2018 World Cup in Russia this summer. After the group game against Argentina, in which the striker came on as a substitute, a hype began to build up around him on Instagram. Before the tournament, Gislason had "only" around 40,000 followers, but that number soon hit the roof. "How can anyone be so handsome?", the Brazilian TV star Gabriela Lopes is alleged to have said, a quote that triggered the hype. A hashtag created by teammate Kári Árnason (#sexyrurik) also spread very quickly, with the result that Gislason soon had more than one million followers. At the moment, the Iceland striker, who has yet to score this season, has more than 1.2 million followers. If you're interested, Gislason's Instagram account can be found here: CLICK!

Iceland's Rurik Gislason challenges Argentina's Lionel Messi. The game ended 1-1.

Photos: Eibner / Witters