2. Bundesliga preview: 1. FC Magdeburg vs. FC St. Pauli

@horn_regan Preview, team news and predicted lineups as 1. Pauli to the Avnet Arena on Sunday.

Bundesliga serves up an interesting encounter this weekend as 1. The hosts have made an impressive start to the campaign, particularly on home soil, and will be looking to strengthen their position in the promotion picture.

Pauli arrive in Saxony-Anhalt hoping to bounce back from last weekend's disappointing defeat to Nürnberg and end their remarkable run of away draws. With both sides having ambitions of challenging towards the top end of the table, Sunday's meeting promises to be an intriguing contest.

FC Magdeburg Magdeburg head into Sunday's encounter sitting fifth in the standings with 17 points from their opening ten matches, having established themselves as one of the division's most dangerous attacking sides. Petrik Sander's team were held to a 1-1 draw away to Darmstadt last weekend, with Tobias Müller giving the visitors an early lead before the hosts restored parity.

Although the result prevented Magdeburg from making further ground on the leading sides, their overall performances have been encouraging, particularly at the Avnet Arena. Indeed, Magdeburg currently boast the joint-best home record in the division, having collected 12 points from their five home fixtures, scoring 15 goals in the process.

Four victories from those matches underline the difficulty Sunday's visitors will face. Their attacking output has also been particularly impressive, with 21 goals scored across their opening ten league matches.

Emmanuel Iyoha and Mateusz Żukowski have been especially influential, contributing 11 goals between them. However, Sander is refusing to underestimate the challenge posed by St.

Pauli, despite their recent defeat to Nürnberg. Speaking ahead of the encounter, the Magdeburg coach described the visitors as a confident team and dismissed the idea that last weekend's performance would necessarily be repeated.

Pauli's dominance against Nürnberg, suggesting that the 3-1 scoreline did not accurately reflect the balance of play. Magdeburg will therefore need to be at their best if they are to maintain their impressive home record and continue their push towards the promotion places.