FC St. Pauli

In the ascendancy

Like the Boys in Brown, the Franconians made a slow start to the campaign, registering two draws followed by four defeats on the bounce. The Club have since embarked on a run of wins, however. Victories over Arminia Bielefeld, Union Berlin, Karlsruhe and Hannover have seen FCN climb from bottom of the table to 8^th place. In their last three matches they have also kept a clean sheet.

Entertainment guaranteed

High-scoring affairs have been the norm for Nürnberg this season. Games involving them have produced more goals than with any other team, none more so than the two away defeats at Braunschweig and Bochum, which ended 6-1 and 5-4 respectively. Centre-forward Guido Burgstaller has been their most prolific player so far, bagging eight goals in nine appearances to head the scoring charts.

Head-to-head

While the Club have their noses in front in the league at the moment, the Boys in Brown can claim a slightly better head-to-head record in Bundesliga 2 of six wins in 16 meetings. Nürnberg have won five, with the other encounters ending all square. Hamburg hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Franconians, it has to be said. Their sole victory at the Millerntor thus far came last season. Apart from this painful 4-0 reverse, however, the Boys in Brown have picked up five wins and two draws.

Rough and ready

Nürnberg are not afraid to mix it, at least that’s what the statistics tell us. They have conceded 183 fouls in total, more than any other team in the league. FCN are also in the leading bunch when it comes to discipline, with 29 yellow and two red cards so far. That’s in stark contrast to the Boys in Brown, who have collected a comparatively angelic 20 yellow cards from 122 fouls. Despite this they have won 50.9 per cent of their tackles, whereas Nürnberg have the second-worst record in the league with 47.7 per cent.

Photo: Witters