Matchday 8 of the 3. Liga season will see a top-of-the-table clash at the Strobelallee as the third-placed Borussia Dortmund U23s take on table-topping promotion favourites Magdeburg. Kick-off in the Rote Erde stadium is scheduled for 14:00 CET on Saturday. 

The visitors from Saxony-Anhalt have got off to an excellent start this season, picking up 16 points from their first seven matches. The team led by coach Christian Titz have five wins, one draw and just one loss (away to 1. FC Saarbrücken) to their name. In their most recent game, a meeting with fellow historic club 1. FC Kaiserslautern, they won 1-0 in front of a home crowd of 15,000 fans. Their stand-out player thus far this season has been Baris Atik. The German-Turkish forward has scored four goals and provided four assists, meaning he's been directly involved in over 60% of Magdeburg's goals. 

There will be a reunion with former BVB youth player Tim Sechelmann on Saturday. The left-back moved to Magdeburg from the 1. FC Cologne U23s in the summer. Sechelmann spent 13 years at Dortmund's youth performance centre and also turned out for club's U23s.

The Black & Yellows came out on top in a hard-fought match away to TSV Havelse last weekend and will come into Saturday's big game with the wind in their sails. Coach Enrico Maaßen's side are unbeaten at home and boast the second-best offensive record in the league. The young team showed a lot of patience away to Havelse before landing the decisive blow at just the right moment to take home all three points. However, the win was tinged with a touch of melancholy: Marco Pasalic suffered a foot injury in the first half and could only leave the stadium with the aid of crutches. He is set for a long spell on the sidelines. Marco Hober, Moritz Broschinski, Florian Krebs and Steffen Tigges will also miss out on Saturday. Question marks remain regarding Tobi Raschl's involvement. 

Tickets for the fourth home game of the season can still be purchased here.