St Pauli v Braunschweig preview

The last two weeks have been good to us, and the 1-0 away win to against Duisburg last weekend leaves us in second place ahead of Matchday 23.

We host Braunschweig on Sunday, who sit in eight place after gaining promotion from the third division last season. When we met them earlier in the season they beat us 1-0 after a Kruppke header went right through the hands of Tschauner. We struggled to create chances in the first half and had to rely on Tschauner on more than one occasion to keep Braunschweig out with some good reaction saves. It was unfortunate that it was his mistake that cost us a draw after he kept us in the game for so long. We fought back and forced two brilliant saves from their keeper late in the match and probably deserved an equaliser.

Andre Schubert has said in the pre game presser that we "must be wide awake" and identified Braunschweig's compact defence as one of their main assets. While admitting the match against Duisburg didn't see us play the best football, Schubert agreed it was a good win and noted that it is a crucial stage of the season, where we have to fight for every inch. Official sites article on the press conference here.

Florian Bruns has said that he "expects a tight game against Braunschweig. This is no picnic. We must try impose our quality and take the three points." Bruns played a central position behind the striker last weekend in Duisburg and had a pretty good game. He said he felt good in that position and highlighted his enjoyment at getting more ball than when on the wings. His press conference is here. 

Sobiech (ankle) and Ebbers (thigh) are still out while Zambrano is not a certainty as he still is recovering from a flu suffered during the week. 

The biggest game this weekend in the promotion race is Paderborn (5th) v Eintracht Frankfurt (1st). Only three points separate them, and this could be a match that helps see the top five completely reshuffle again by the end of this weekend. Eintracht would be confident, though, after winning 6-1 over FSV Frankfurt last weekend while Paderborn aren't in the best form at the moment.

Elsewhere Furth host Bochum and Dusseldorf host Aachen (a game they'll look to use to get back into form after their slow start in the second half of the season)

Duisburg 0-1 St Pauli

We came into this match knowing a win could send us first after things went out way last week - Our home win v Bochum (2-1) was scrappy, but it didn't really matter. Furth smashed Paderborn and then Dusseldorf and Eintracht Frankfurt drew, finishing off a weekend of brilliant results for us.

This weekend was much the same. The 1-0 away win to Duisburg wasn't sensational but it was a solid performance. Furth then went on to draw with Ingolstadt, Paderborn drew with Dresden and Dusseldorf lost to 1860 Munich. The only negative was Eintracht won the Frankfurt derby 6-1 but, after sitting in 5th place just two weeks ago, we now occupy second spot.

Fabian Boll scored the only goal of this game in the 21st minute. It was a slow start with Duisburg having the only real chance of the opening stages in the 10th minute. So it wasn't really too much of a surprise that the goal came from a set piece. Bruns whipped the ball in from the right and the Duisburg defence disappeared. Boll had a free header from four yards out and made no mistake.

The match didn't open up at all after the goal. Duisburg may have played a slightly better game than us during the first half, but it wasn't exactly end to end stuff. Which was probably a good thing, as our defence looked really inconsistent and you couldn't tell if they were going to stand strong and stop any attack coming there way or simply fall to pieces.

The latter happened a couple of times during the second half. Zambrano got beaten way too easily in the 52nd minute, and Thorandt got turned inside out after 58 minutes. Luckily for us, Duisburg failed to capitalise on both occasions. Partly due to Pliquett's great form as he made a few great saves in this game, but there's no doubting Duisburg's finishing lacked conviction.

Most of the chances in the back end of the game were Duisburg's, but even then they weren't exactly clear-cut. We were only looking to defend out lead and work hard to keep the three points and move into first. Daube came on for Bartels in the 69th minute, Naki on for Bruns in the 80th and Rothenbach for Schindler right at the death.

Our last two wins haven't been pretty but they've been important. We've struggled to break into that top three for most of this season, possible due to slip ups in games we should win. Losses to FC Erzgebirge Aue, Ingolstadt and Aachen haven't come back to hurt us thankfully (mainly due to the fact we only have three draws). We have the most losses out of anyone in the top five, but also the most wins. 

Next up we have Braunschweig at home, then 1860 Munich away. Two games that can cause us trouble if we're not on form. Can't afford to lose with the 2. Bundesliga top five so tight!

1. Eintracht 46pts

2. St Pauli 45pts

3. Furth 44pts

4. Dusseldorf 44pts

5 Paderborn 43pts

Forza St Pauli!