FC St. Pauli

Experience

Sandhausen have the oldest squad in the league, with an average age of just over 27. At 36, former St. Pauli man Philipp Heerwagen and Stefan Kulovits are the veterans in their ranks; Heerwagen is just six days older than Kulovits. In Enrique Pena Zauner, there is only one player in the squad who has yet to celebrate his 20^th birthday. Sandhausen offer a wealth of second division experience – their total of 1,921 appearances at this level is surpassed only by Aue (2,012). The Boys in Brown sit third on 1,920 appearances.

Return

Aziz Bouhaddouz accounts for 177 of those second-division appearances. The striker returned to Sandhausen in summer after a three-year absence, having already played 59 times for the club from 2014 to 2016 before moving to the Millerntor and making 56 appearances for the Boys in Brown. Last season, Bouhaddouz was on the books of Al-Batin FC in Saudi Arabia, where he scored twice in ten games. This term, he has had two run-outs for Sandhausen, scoring a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Bochum last time out.

Physicality

The Boys in Brown will have to hold their own in physical as well as footballing terms on Sunday, as Uwe Koschinat's side have committed the highest number of fouls this season. They have already been penalised 106 times in the seven matches thus far – an average of just over 15 fouls per game – for which they have received 17 yellow cards but no reds. Striker Rurik Gislason leads the way along with Regensburg's Max Besuschkow (18 fouls each).

Finishing

Sandhausen have the league's third-weakest attack this season, having scored just eight goals to date. That is not for want of trying, however. The fifth-placed side have registered 112 attempts on goal this term – the fifth-highest total. They sit next-to-bottom in the rankings in terms of effectiveness, though, as only one in 14 of those attempts has found the net. Only Kiel (six goals from 107 attempts) have a worse finishing record. In contrast, the Boys in Brown have been particularly effective in front of goal, scoring 11 times from 76 attempts.

Defensive

When a team sit fifth in the league despite a meagre goals tally, then there must be another reason and in Sandhausen's case it is their excellent defensive work. Uwe Koschinat's charges have conceded just six times, the second-lowest total in the league. Their rearguard has proved particularly impenetrable before the break, with just a single goal conceded. After the restart, however, they have been breached five times, with three of those goals coming in the period between the 46^th and 60^th minutes.

Running

Sunday's visitors have covered the shortest distance of any second division team this season, clocking up just 776.65 kilometres so far for an average of 110.95 kilometres per game. This category is led by Holstein Kiel, with a total of 829.50 kilometres (118.50 kilometres per game). The Boys rank eighth on 806.18 kilometres (115.17 kilometres on average).

Photos: Witters