Slomka wants good form to continue

To keep the Reds in contention, they are aiming for all three points at Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday with a win giving them a chance to spend the winter break inside the top six.

"We have the chance to bring a good end to the first half of the season after the great win over Leverkusen, and we want to get more points on the board than we had at this stage last year," said Slomka.

"I've got to say we have gifted a few points this season, but our aim is to be an established top-half club and a name which always springs to mind when you take a glance at the Bundesliga table."

Nevertheless, defeat could leave Hannover in the wrong half of the table, as far as their long-term ambitions are concerned.

"We deserve a place in top half, but we need points for that and the league is very evenly-poised," added Slomka at a press conference.

"We have seen how quickly you can drop down a few places with a defeat, or climb up a few with a win."

Fortuna are going to be spending their first winter back in the Bundesliga inside the bottom half, but a win would give them a much more positive outlook going into the new year.

Eighteen points is already a big step towards their aim of avoiding relegation, although breaking through the 20-point barrier would be a big psychological fillip.

"If we can improve our points tally, then it will have been a successful first half of the season," said their coach Norbert Meier.

"But it's also clear that we are not the favourites in this game.

"Hannover are a club who have been exemplary in recent years. We are going to have to be alert from the first to the last second and put in a lot of hard work.

Stelios Malezas could make a return to the Fortuna squad on Saturday, but Robert Kruse is ruled out due to suspension.

Only long-term injury absentees Leon Andreasen, Lars Stindl and Felipe are unavailable for the Reds, who will be accompanied by 3,500 fans among a crowd of 48,000 inside the Dusseldorf Arena.