Surprise occupiers of second place at this early stage in the 2. Bundesliga season, St. Pauli pay a visit to FSV Frankfurt at Sunday lunchtime, looking to go top until at least Monday evening, with leaders VfL Bochum the last in action on this matchday.
FSV, on the other hand, currently sit ninth in the standings, bang in mid-table, and will be looking build upon their first league win of the season, which was recorded last Friday.
Current form
As aforementioned, this weekend's hosts, despite winning in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, bagged their first victory of the new league campaign last time out, defeating SpVgg Greuther Fürth 2-0 with goals from Besar Halimi and Tim Golley.
Their other three games so far, however, have resulted in two defeats, one on the opening weekend at home to RB Leipzig and one earlier this month at home to Karlsruher SC, whilst the remaining one was a goalless draw at newly-promoted Arminia Bielefeld.
They are thus still waiting for their first win at the Frankfurter Volksbank Stadion in 2015-16, and breaking that duck against an in-form St. Pauli side will be a tough ask.
Despite also recording a goalless draw with Arminia this season, that on the opening weekend, St. Pauli have won all three of their league games since, beating Karlsruher, Greuther and Leipzig, albeit each by narrow scorelines. Their last win, against the latter, was a 1-0 victory, with Lennart Thy on the scoresheet for the first time this season as he proved to be the match-winner.
Coincidentally, these two have played the same four teams so far this season, which gives an even clearer indication of St. Pauli's better form too, with them having registered three wins and a draw against the same teams that FSV have managed a win, a draw and two defeats.
Previous meetings
These two have met 14 times before, with eight of these clashes coming in the last four seasons as they find themselves stuck in the German second tier together. St. Pauli lead the head-to-head with seven wins from these meetings, whilst FSV only boast three - the remaining four games ending all square.
Last season, both encounters resulted in the latter, FSV's home match a thrilling 3-3 draw in which Dennis Daube, who left for Union Berlin this summer, scored an 86th minute equaliser for St. Pauli, whilst the return fixture was a less entertaining 1-1 result, Thy on target for the hosts as Joni Kauko, now in the German 3. Liga with FC Energie Cottbus, found the back of the net for Frankfurt.
Three of the last seven meetings between these two sides have produced red cards as well, with Tom Trybull dismissed for St. Pauli in FSV's 1-0 victory at home in the 2013-14 season, whilst Nils Teixeira saw red in the reverse fixture earlier that season as Frankfurt were defeated 2-1.
The only straight red card of these three dismissals, however, came back in 2012 in another 3-3 draw on FSV's turf, with the hosts leading 3-1 when Bjorn Schlicke was sent off in the first half, meaning St. Pauli were able to get two goals back against the 10 men to earn a point.
Key players
Despite it being a poor start to the season for FSV, it's been anything but that for youngter Halimi, who has two goals in his last two games for the club from an attacking midfield position.
The 20-year-old is on loan from 1. FSV Mainz 05 this season and is certainly making an impression in the 2. Bundesliga, bringing plenty of creativity to the four games he has played so far. If Frankfurt are to win this weekend, then Halimi will play a key part in that, as everything goes through him going forward.
Halimi will be trying to supply the service necessary for striker Zlatko Dedič to break his duck this season, the Bosnian-born Slovenian yet to find the back of the net so far in his four league games, though he does have an assist to his name already and hit the target in the cup.
The hard-working performances put in by the 30-year-old certainly warrant a goal, and one is sure to come soon if he keeps up this great effort, and once he gets one then more are sure to follow. If FSV are to improve on their poor start, then they need to make sure Dedič's first strike comes sooner, rather than later.
As for the visitors, with three goals in his last three games for the team, one of these coming in the 4-1 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the cup, St. Pauli's Marc Rzatkowski is one for FSV to keep their eye on on Sunday.
The 25-year-old attacking midfielder's one area of weakness is his goal-scoring, with him netting only seven in his 61 games for the club thus far, but he looks to be onto something recently, having bagged a game winning brace against Greuther just two weeks ago.
If he can continue to be this prolific with his scoring, as well as continuing to contribute to the goals of others, then Rzatkowski will play a key role in what has the potential to be a surprise season for St. Pauli, and his high confidence will make him effective this weekend too.
Thy is another player that FSV need to watch, the striker proving to be a great option on the wing this season with his high work ethic and important physical presence. His determination and great directness sees him create plenty for his team, as well as making things happen for himself, whilst he is another who will be high in self-belief too after his decisive goal in the 1-0 win over Leipzig last week.
Prediction
Whilst FSV will certainly be keen to get their first home win on the board, St. Pauli will be a tough obstacle to overcome in order for them to achieve this.
Sitting pretty in second and good for their money there too, the Hamburg-based side are in formidable form as they search for a fourth successive league win, and with them playing as well as their recent results suggest, they should be able to secure this on Sunday afternoon.
FSV will make it a hard fought win for the visitors, with them yet to be comfortably defeated this season, but it should be a win nonetheless for St. Pauli given how well they are performing right now in all areas of the park.