FC St. Pauli

The only games that have set kick-off times are the season opener (Hamburg SV against Holstein Kiel) and the final two matchdays. Here's the fixture list at a glance:

FIXTURE LIST REACTION

Director of sport Uwe Stöver: "It's a really interesting opening-day pairing against Magdeburg that's sure to take place in front of a sell-out crowd. The following games against Darmstadt, Union Berlin and newly relegated Cologne are tough challenges as well. It's a difficult start to the season and with this in mind our objective will be to be ready and well prepared to come out of these games successfully."

On the derby: "Both games are absolute highlights. Whether we're away first or at home is irrelevant."

Head coach Markus Kauczinski: "It's a tasty start to the campaign, of course, and we'll have to be on our toes right away. Magdeburg are a strong team with a noisy crowd behind them. It'll be a nice challenge for us in that cauldron. The derby will be ace as well, regardless of whether it takes place on the opening day, the final day, or in round 8. Overall, the league is even stronger now with Hamburg and Köln dropping down from the Bundesliga. You come up against tough opposition every week, so it hardly matters what order you play in. That said, we'll be strong and awkward opponents for all the other teams as well."

Bernd Nehrig: "The first four matches really have it in them. Magdeburg will start the season with a full house and lots of euphoria. After that Darmstadt come to the Millerntor and they'll definitely be wanting to do a few things differently than last season. Games at Union Berlin are always a challenge and on matchday four we play host to a team who've just come down from the Bundesliga in FC Cologne. For us that means we'll need to be solid and function as a team from the outset. As a player I look forward to games like these, just as the rest of the team do. It's obviously a tough start but we have to play all 17 teams at some point and a good start can give you lots of impetus for the rest of the season."

Jan-Philipp Kalla: "The opening games are a mixed bag with one promoted side, one relegated side and two established second division teams. We begin with a tough ask at FC Magdeburg, who will start with plenty of momentum having just come up. Darmstadt had problems last year and are sure to perform differently, as are Union Berlin, who are among the second division favourites every year. It's nice that Cologne and Lasse [Sobiech] will be coming to the Millerntor as early as week four. It's sure to be a great game both on the pitch and in the stands."

On the derby: "The derby's a highlight, of course, but in the end it's only one match among many other important games during the season, though obviously we'll do all we can to bring the points back home to St. Pauli."

Photo: Witters