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FCK’s defensive wall faces test in Magdeburg


Large red and white banners with the 1. FC Kaiserslautern club logo and crest are displayed in a crowded stadium section.

1. FC Kaiserslautern plays 1. FC Magdeburg on Saturday. (Facebook/1. FC Kaiserslautern)

Saturday’s match between 1. FC Kaiserslautern and 1. FC Magdeburg at Avnet Arena will be a clash of styles.

FCK enters the contest, which kicks off at 1 p.m. CET, with the best defensive record in the 2. Bundesliga. The Red Devils have allowed just one goal this season.

The biggest problem has been creating goals, scoring just five — all of which have come in the last two matches. Still, Kaiserslautern sits in fifth place with eight points early in the season.

FCM, meanwhile, is the exact opposite, as goals are plentiful. Only one match involving the club ended the teams combine for fewer than three goals, and Magdeburg opened the season with a 6-1 home defeat to Eintracht Braunschweig.

It carries over a trend from last season, where Magdeburg gave up the fourth-most goals in the German second division with 58.

Magdeburg faces a defensive dilemma Saturday, as center back Tobias Müller serves a suspension for being sent off in a 2-1 loss at Hertha BSC last Sunday.

Kaiserslautern, meanwhile, has the same players out, although the club has received good news on that front. Longtime-injured striker Ivan Prtajin returned to team training this week, but Saturday’s match has been deemed too soon as the Croatian continues his road to recovery from a torn Achilles tendon.

Finnish midfielder Naatan Skyttä and 19-year-old German midfielder Owen Gibs won’t be available because of a knee and groin injuries, respectively.

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