HOLSTEIN KIEL FACT FILE
Thursday, 22. February 2018, 09:51 Uhr
Next up for the Boys in Brown after the 1-0 win at Ingolstadt is another meeting with a promotion-chasing side. Holstein Kiel are the visitors to the Millerntor on Sunday. We've taken a closer look at the Storks and, as usual, put together a few facts and figures on our forthcoming opponents.
The draw specialists
Kiel have gone ten games without a win since beating Dynamo Dresden 3-0 on 5 November. In that period Markus Anfang's side have shared the points eight times, slipping to just two 3-1 defeats against Sandhausen and Kaiserslautern.
The home kings
There is a positive side to all those draws, however, as the Storks have not lost at home in eight matches. Their last reverse at the Holstein Stadium came on 19 September, when a certain Johannes Flum grabbed the only goal in a 1-0 win for the Boys in Brown over their northern rivals.
The midfield threat
In Dominik Drexler, Kiel have the most prolific midfielder in their ranks. The 27-year-old has an impressive strike rate of ten goals from 41 attempts and has also provided seven assists, more than anyone else at his club. That means the Bonn-born player has already more than twice the number of goals and assists after 22 second division games for Kiel than in 33 matches for Sandhausen and Greuther Fürth.
The goal machine
No other player has registered more attempts on goal than St. Pauli loanee Marvin Ducksch (93). With 12 goals and six assists, the 23-year-old is also the most valuable player in Kiel's formidable strike force. The Storks boast the second-best attack in the league (43 goals). Only Nürnberg have scored more often (46).
The dynamic duo
Kiel's central defensive pairing of Dominik Schmidt and Rafael Czichos have recorded the most touches in the second division (1,559 and 1,552 respectively). Captain Czichos has also completed the highest number of passes to a teammate (1,035), making him the only player in the league to break through the 1,000 barrier.
The bad boys
With 55 yellow cards and three red, Kiel sit bottom in the fair-play table. Only SSV Jahn Regensburg have picked up more bookings (56), but they have had only one player sent off. The Boys in Brown continue to lead the way in the division with just 32 cautions.
The right-leaning
Kiel have very much favoured the right flank this season. A total of 135 crosses have been delivered from that side of the pitch, which is usually patrolled by Kingsley Schindler, as against 79 from the left. Most of those balls in are targeted at Marvin Ducksch, who tends to loiter between the opposition central defenders almost on a line with the back four. Kiel have already been flagged offside 74 times this term, more than any other team.
The regulars
The loss of first-team regulars to injury has not been a problem for the Storks this term. This is indicated by the fact that no fewer than 16 players have featured in the squad at least 20 times in their 23 matches so far, including all their leading scorers and goal-makers. By comparison, only eight St. Pauli players have been named in the squad 20 or more times.
Photos: Witters
