FC St. Pauli

Longest second division stint

Greuther Fürth are into their 31^st season in the second tier of German football, more than any other team at this level. Their one and only Bundesliga outing came in 2012-13 with a side that included former St. Pauli favourites Lasse Sobiech and Gerald Asamoah.

Possession isn't everything

This is a lesson Stefan Leitl's side learned the hard way against Erzgebirge Aue on the opening day of the season. Though they had 62 per cent of the ball, the Franconians were unable to convert their dominance into points and ended up losing 2-0. Overall, only two teams who had more possession than their opponents last weekend – Stuttgart (64 per cent) and Heidenheim (58) – went on to win the game. Nürnberg (36 per cent), Regensburg (39), Karlsruhe (45) and, as already mentioned, Aue (38) collected the points despite seeing far less of the ball.

One of those days

Ultimately, football is all about results, and Fürth's opening game against Aue is a perfect example of that. The Cloverleaves mustered 24 attempts on goal altogether, yet still failed to find the net. HSV were the only team who bombarded the opposition net more often last week (25 attempts).

Building on experience

In 35-year-old Marco Caligiuri, Fürth boast the oldest captain in the league. The Italo-German is one half of the most experienced central-defensive pairing at this level along with Mergim Mavraj, 33. Both are in their second spell at the club.

Fountain of youth

Stefan Leitl also has a number of talented young players at his disposal, though, including Robin Kehr, who won an Under-19 championship medal with Borussia Dortmund and learned his trade at the Millerntor up to Under-15 level. The youngest member of the Fürth squad, however, is homegrown product Jamie Leweling, 18, the second-youngest player to feature this year behind Bielefeld's Jomaine Consbruch, 17. The top ten also includes Finn Ole Becker, 18, and Christian Conteh, 19, by the way.

Home advantage

The last four meetings between the top teams have all gone the way of the home side. In the head-to-head record, however, the Franconians have their noses in front. Fürth have won 12 of the 30 second-division games played to date, St. Pauli eight, with the remaining ten matches ending all square. The Boys in Brown are in the ascendency, though, having won five of the last eight encounters. At the Millerntor, they are also unbeaten in four against Friday's visitors.

Photos: Witters