Paderborn may be propping up the Bundesliga table, but they’ve provided plenty of entertainment with the likes of Streli Mamba, Abdelhamid Sabiri and Kai Pröger in attack.

Who they signed: Paderborn had enjoyed back-to-back promotions from the third division all the way to the Bundesliga, so there was no surprise to see them bolster their squad for just their second season of top-flight football. But they didn’t just go out spending money. Instead they went for a string of clever free transfers, plucking players from relative obscurity.

Teenage centre-back Luca Kilian was drafted in from the Borussia Dortmund reserves; top scorer Mamba arrived from fourth-tier Energie Cottbus; Brazil-born winger Cauly came from Duisburg and former Germany U21 international Sabiri joined from Huddersfield Town, while Laurent Jans came on loan from Metz in France to challenge Mo Dräger at right-back. Some Bundesliga experience was added in the form of Mainz loanees Gerrit Holtmann and goalkeeper Jannik Huth.

Sabiri (c.) quickly found his place in the Paderborn squad featuring new signings and players who had come up from the third division. - pmk via www.imago-images.de/imago images/pmk

The promoted side bolstered their forward ranks further in January with striker Dennis Srbeny returning from English Premier League outfit Norwich City, and England U19 international Antony Evans made the move from Everton.

What they expected: For a club that has either been promoted or relegated in each of the last six seasons, they would want nothing more than to stabilise themselves in the Bundesliga and avoid an immediate return to Bundesliga 2, which last time saw them drop all the way to the third tier and almost the fourth if it weren’t for a lifeline from 1860 Munich’s licensing issues. A brave battle against relegation was therefore the minimum Paderborn were aiming for, while acknowledging how tough it would be.

How it played out: Paderborn had once tasted the heady heights of first place in the Bundesliga early in their only previous top-flight campaign. It counted for nothing in the end as they went straight back down in 2014/15. However, there was no such start this time as a 1-1 draw at Wolfsburg on Matchday 3 produced their only point from the opening eight games and they took up an early position at the foot of the table.

A first Bundesliga victory since May 2015 came at the end of October with a 2-0 triumph at home to Fortuna Düsseldorf before the promoted side almost pulled off the shock of the season with a 3-3 draw away at Dortmund after leading 3-0.

Watch: Paderborn’s first win of the season over Düsseldorf

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Sven Michel scored a 93rd-minute winner away at fellow strugglers Werder Bremen in early December to lift Paderborn off the bottom of the table, but the gap to 16th remained a seemingly giant four points and the respite from holding up the table lasted just one game. The same happened again at the end of January following a 2-0 win at Freiburg.

Yet it appears the damage has already been done and even a haul of 10 points from six games across the new year failed to move Steffen Baumgart’s valiant troops, who have openly stuck to the style of play that saw them secure back-to-back promotions, out of the bottom two.

It’s seen them score in all but five of their 25 matches, as well as two in both of their games against Bayern Munich – only Eintracht Frankfurt have netted more against the champions this season. It’s at the other end where the problem lies with the second-leakiest defence in the division.

Key player: Mamba may be the team’s top scorer with five, while Srbeny is catching up quickly on four since his January return, but Kai Pröger has been the unsung hero for Paderborn. The winger is the team’s leading provider with six assists. Combined with two goals, including one against Bayern in September, where he gave Alphonso Davies one of his toughest days, he’s the club’s greatest source of goals.

Pröger has twice made life difficult for Bayern left-back Davies this season. - Bernd Feil/M.i.S. via www.imago-images.de/imago images/MIS

The 27-year-old, who joined last January, is the driving force behind Paderborn’s exciting style of play. He tops the club standings for shots (45), chances created (35), crosses (39) and sprints (651).

Best game: Strangely, none of Paderborn’s four wins this season would go down as their best game. They pushed Bayern all the way in Munich despite a 3-2 loss, but perhaps their best performance this campaign came in front of 81,365 spectators at the Signal Iduna Park in November.

Mamba struck twice as Paderborn claimed a 3-0 half-time lead in Dortmund, dominating the hosts and limiting them to just three shots and none on target.

The tide turned after the break as BVB got their act together and had 14 attempts on goal inside 45 minutes. Jadon Sancho got one back after two minutes but it looked like Paderborn would hold on for the greatest result in their history.

Watch: Paderborn’s dramatic visit to Dortmund

Yet the pressure proved too much as Axel Witsel made it 3-2 on 84 minutes before Marco Reus headed home a 92nd-minute equaliser to break Paderborn hearts. It was somewhat symptomatic of the promoted side’s season, showing often scintillating attacking play but proving too susceptible at the back and paying the price.

Biggest surprise: Sabiri has gone from warming the bench at Huddersfield to scoring stunners, while winger Christopher Antwi-Adjei earned his first cap for Ghana just months after promotion and playing semi-professionally in 2017. However, Mamba has taken the largest stride forward.

While most teammates were able to adapt towards life in the Bundesliga with a year in the second tier, he came straight from top scoring with relegated Cottbus in the third division. The 25-year-old had previously been reaching double figures in the lower divisions since coming through the VfB Stuttgart academy, but he’d likely rank five goals in 18 Bundesliga games above those hauls. And they didn’t just come against teams in the lower reaches of the table, but at Bayer Leverkusen, Dortmund and against Freiburg and RB Leipzig.

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