Our next opponents update: FC St. Pauli bounce back

Firstly, back to the win against VfB Stuttgart: A look at the league table alone shows just how important the three points are for FC St. Pauli in the relegation battle. Although the Hamburg side are still in a relegation spot, thanks to the defeats for Werder Bremen (0-1 at SC Freiburg) and VfL Wolfsburg (1-2 against Borussia Dortmund), the gap to the play-off place is now only two points instead of four. And even 15th place is now only two points away and no longer five. "A win like this always gives you a boost and energy, especially after a long barren spell," said midfielder Mathias Rasmussen. "We showed character and mentality today," declared Manolis Saliakas, who scored the goal. "We’re back."

special praise for skipper Jackson Irvine

The Brown and Whites deserved their success against the Swabian side in their first defeat of the new year. After Saliakas made it 1-0 before the break, striker Danel Sinani doubled the lead at 2-0 with a penalty shortly after the restart. Stuttgart only managed to score a consolation goal through Jamie Leweling on 90 minutes at the Millerntor. Man of the match was St. Pauli captain Jackson Irvine, who went the full distance despite severe pain in his foot. The Australian was in the starting line-up for the first time this year and he received special praise from coach Alexander Blessin: "We actually only wanted him to play one half, but we got together during the break and said that a quarter of an hour would do us good. In the end it was 96 minutes. He pulled through, even though he was in a lot of pain. You just have to respect that. He was a big help to us. It was a top performance, we're happy and delighted we've finally been rewarded for a good game."

Personnel Situation remains tight

Irvine was "totally happy" and admitted afterwards: "It was perhaps one of the toughest games of my career." The fact the 32-year-old gritted his teeth is all the more important in view of the tight personnel situation at the Kiezkicker. For the away game in Leverkusen, Blessin will have to manage without, among others, his fast-paced attacker Ricky-Jade Jones. He tore an ankle ligament in the 3-0 defeat in the DFB Pokal quarter-final at the BayArena earlier this month and he will be sidelined for several months. Defender David Nemeth (groin), midfielder Connor Metcalfe (knee) and striker Andreas Hountondji (ankle) will also miss out. It remains to be seen if Hauke Wahl (ligament strain) and Eric Smith (heel), who have been missing in defence recently, will be able to return. Mathias Pereira Lage and Joel Chima Fujita may also not be in the starting eleven after muscular problems.

Kiezkicker optimistic ahead of Werkself clash

Despite ongoing injury worries, the Hamburg team are counting on getting a result at the BayArena. "It will be a difficult game," said Mathias Rasmussen. Looking back at the last clash with the Werkself a week and a half ago, the Norwegian added: "If we make the most of our chances, we can beat Leverkusen. We have to try to prevent them from finding solutions and get them frustrated. They are a strong team, but still have a few problems defensively. We always have to be alert and can't afford to switch off at certain moments. That will be penalised. So we have to be alert, but we must not be afraid to create our own moments."

FC St. Pauli certainly had their own moments in the 3-0 defeat at the BayArena. In the first half in particular, the Hanseatic side had good chances to score through Martijn Kaars (4’/40’) and Fujita (23’). Blessin's team combined well and remained dangerous with a number of transitional moves. However, the Werkself, who took the lead in the first half through Martin Terrier (32’), were more efficient. Bayer 04 were largely in control in the second half. Patrik Schick (63’) and substitute Jonas Hofmann (90+2’) increased the score to 3-0 and sealed the Kiezkicker exit from the DFB Pokal.

The Brown and Whites also had to concede defeat to the visitors from Leverkusen in the Hinrunde. The Black and Reds won 2-1 at the Millerntor with goals from Edmond Tapsoba and Ernest Poku and a strike in reply from Hauke Wahl. If FC St. Pauli have their way, they will get a result against the Werkself for the first time at the third attempt this term.