Hannover vs St Pauli Preview
Hannover coach Mirko Slomka insists his side are not getting carried away with their excellent start to the season.
"Euphoria is nothing evil, but we will certainly be keeping our feet on the ground," he said at the pre-match press conference.
"The fans are permitted to dream."
The fans have certainly responded positively to Hannover's success on the field and tomorrow night's game at the Niedersachsenstadion is a 49,000 sell-out.
"That shows how well we are working," added Slomka, who has received some good news from the treatment room with Mohammed Abdellaoue recovering from the concussion which forced him to spend a night in hospital under observation after last weekend's win over Kaiserslautern.
However, Didier Ya Konan has not recovered from the knee injury he picked up in the same game.
St Pauli coach Holger Stanislawski believes Hannover thoroughly deserve their current league position and is therefore preparing his side to face one of the best club's in Germany right now.
"The table is a bit strange right now, but it does reflect that anybody can beat anybody this season," he said.
"In other words, spending a lot of money does not guarantee a top-three finish."
St Pauli have splashed very little cash following their promotion back to the Bundesliga and the most money they have invested is in the wages of former Germany international Gerald Asamoah, who came on a free transfer from Schalke.
He started his career with Hannover and is therefore particularly excited about tomorrow's return to the Niedersachsenstadion.
"I had a great time in Hannover," he told the Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper.
"Professional football began here for me."
He may witness the beginning of the match from the bench, however, since Marius Ebbers remains Pauli's first-choice striker, but Asamoah will be chomping at the bit to come on at his first footballing home.
Under-2.07
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