Toni Kroos is back in contention to feature for Real Madrid as they visit the Westfalenstadion to take on Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
Champions League action resumes on Tuesday, with Matchday 2 of the group stage. The marquee clash of the latest round of fixtures will see Borussia Dortmund host Real Madrid at the Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday, with Zinedine Zidane greeted with some positive news ahead of the trip to Germany.
The Real Madrid boss has welcomed back Toni Kroos into his matchday squad, with the German midfielder recovering from the rib injury that forced him to miss the trip to Alaves on the weekend.
? #RMUCL
This is our 20-man squad for tomorrow’s Champions League match against @BVB. ? pic.twitter.com/fvZInrrfdg— Real Madrid C.F.?? (@realmadriden) September 25, 2017
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Zidane said that Kroos is in contention to start on Tuesday. “He’s here with us and that means to say that he’s fine. We know just how important he is to this team. We’ve got our final session now and we’ll see how he gets on.”
But, Zidane is without four key first-team players ahead of Tuesday’s game, with Marcelo (leg), Theo Hernandez (dislocated shoulder), Mateo Kovacic (abductor injury) and Karim Benzema (hamstring) all sidelined until October at the earliest.
Left-back is a major area of concern due to the absence of Marcelo and Theo, and Nacho is expected to deputise once again on the left side of defence. Meanwhile, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric are expected to start after playing no part on Saturday against Alaves.
Borussia Dortmund manager Peter Bosz, on the other hand, has an injury riddled roster to deal with ahead of the visit of Real Madrid. In fact, the hosts could be without as many as seven key first-team players on Tuesday.
? “Auch wenn @realmadrid einige verletzte Spieler hat, macht sie das nicht schlechter. Dafür ist ihr Kader einfach zu groß.” #Bosz #BVBRMA pic.twitter.com/BcMzNVMmHZ
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) September 25, 2017
Defence is the worst hit area, with Raphael Guerreiro, Marcel Schmelzer (both ankle) and Erik Durm (hip) sidelined. Additionally, Marc Bartra is a doubt despite featuring as a substitute against Borussia Monchengladbach on the weekend. The Spaniard’s availability is subject to a late fitness test.
In the absence of Guerreiro and Schmelzer, either Jeremy Toljan or Dan-Axel Zagadou is expected to deputise as left-back while Lukasz Piszczek is likely to be the right-back. Up ahead in midfield and attack, Andre Schurrle (thigh), Sebastian Rode (pelvis) and Marco Reus (knee) are short-to-long-term absentees.
Bosz, meanwhile, chose to concentrate on the visitors in his pre-match press conference, claiming Real Madrid will not be weaker despite some major absentees. He said,” They have a big squad. I don’t believe Real are weaker at all because of their injured players. But we’ve got to do it well.”