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)