FC St. Pauli

Table talk

If we look at the league table, we will see that SC Paderborn bring up the rear of the chasing pack in seventh place. Yet if we go by current form, it's a very different story. The East Westphalians have won four of the first six games in the second half of the season and picked up 13 points in the process, more than any other team. It's a similar picture if we look at the home table, where Paderborn sit second on 24 points behind leaders Union Berlin on 28. Taken together, these stats underline the size of the task facing the Boys in Brown at the Benteler Arena on Saturday.

Winter spending spree

Paderborn had a busy winter on the transfer market, bringing in five players from abroad and the domestic fourth tier. Only one of them, Kai Pröger, has seen any action to date, however. The former RW Essen midfielder made his debut in the first game after his arrival and notched his first goal on his second appearance, a 6-0 thrashing of Greuther Fürth. Things have gone very differently for fellow recruit Khiry Shelton, who joined the club from MLS outfit Sporting Kansas City. The American sustained an injury just five days after his unveiling and has yet to make an appearance. Attacking player Felix Drinkuth made the short journey to Paderborn from Regionalliga side Eintracht Norderstedt but was immediately sent on loan to third division SF Lotte. The other two signings, Mohammed Kamara (UCLA Bruins, USA) and Philimon Tawiah (Tudu Mighty Jets, Ghana), are waiting in the wings.

First FC St. Pauli, then "Hasi Palau"

Paderborn may be 200 km northeast of the carnival stronghold of Cologne, but they love to celebrate it, nonetheless. The highlight of the street festivities in the city is a large parade that traditionally gets underway at 14 minutes past two on carnival Saturday to the call of "Hasi Palau". This year there's a slight problem, however, because at that time the local footballers will still be in action against the Boys in Brown. The organisers of the parade have therefore decided to delay the start by an hour and one minute and will now set off at a quarter past three. In Paderborn, football really is the number one show in town.

Goals, goals, goals

With 23 games gone, Paderborn boast the second fiercest attacking force in the league, keeping opposition defences busy with an average of 17 attempts on goal per game. That bombardment has resulted in an impressive 54 goals so far, a total only FC Cologne have bettered (56). Yet Paderborn have leaked goals as well and have played out just one scoreless draw to date (against Union Berlin). Games involving Paderborn have produced a total of 90 goals for an average of 3.91 per match, the highest in the league. Expect to see a goal fest on Saturday, then.

Photos: Eibner