FC St. Pauli

...Leipzig's qualities: "Leipzig have a few injuries to contend with, but they've coped outstandingly well because they have so much quality in the team and such a big squad. Leipzig are having an exceptional season, especially defensively, although we all know they have incredible quality in attack as well. We're looking forward to the game and are obviously going there with the aim of reaching the next round. We're the clear the outsiders, of course, but we saw in the Bundesliga game that we can hurt them."

...the outsiders role: "I don't think Leipzig will underestimate us. They're at home and will obviously want to put in a performance in front of their own fans. They've set themselves the target of winning as many trophies as possible, but we obviously have something to say about that. The pressure's on them. We were on a par with them in the first game and that gives us a good feeling, but we'll need to hit a perfect day."

...whether to rotate in a three-match week: "There are two question marks where I could see us rotating. We haven't had such a big physical load so far, but we can't play through three games with the same team. So we are considering rotating, but probably not to the same extent as Leipzig will."

...the possibility of using a cup goalkeeper: "It's simply too early for that. Eric Oelschlägel is still a bit behind in training, and we're having to manage his workload as well. He's doing a really good job but Nikola Vasilj has found his rhythm and is in such good form at the moment, so I see no reason to make a change there."

...being backed by almost 5,000 St. Pauli fans in Leipzig: "We need that support and I know we always get it. It always feels like there's a bit of a wall behind us. We obviously want to put in a good showing for the fans and show them we can score goals and are determined to go through to the next round."

…the special thing about the cup: "Winning the cup is not the easiest thing to do, as we know, but it's the quickest way to silverware. It would be great to progress to the next round and then get drawn at home again. We can go into the game with freedom because we have nothing to lose. Everyone knows it's an incredible thing to go all the way and play in Berlin. It's unrivalled. But we shouldn't think about that yet. We're up against tough opposition, but we do have a chance, and we want to be greedy and take it."

…the match plan: "The Bundesliga game at the Millerntor is definitely a blueprint. We have to keep their attacking pace in check and then control the transitions to make sure they can't hurt us. They have amazing quality, power and pace. We have to stop them, either in a deep defensive block or a bit higher, where we can hurt them a bit as well."

Photos: Witters