The Borussia Dortmund coach is aware of the
attacking potency of the opposition on Saturday and believes his
makeshift defence will have to be at their very best
Dortmund are missing a host of key players at the back, including Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels, as well as defensive midfielders Sven Bender and Ilkay Gundogan due to injury, while Sokratis is suspended.
Klopp recognises that his makeshift defence, which could feature youngster Marian Sarr fresh from his Champions League debut midweek, will have to be at their very best to prevent a free-scoring Hoffenheim from profiting from their misfortune this weekend.
“We should attack, take our chances, and defend sensationally,” he said to the club's official website.
BVB were three minutes away from dropping into the Europa League on Wednesday night, but a late Kevin Grosskreutz strike clinched a 2-1 win against Marseille, and catapulted them above Arsenal and Napoli as Champions League Group F winners.
Klopp is wary that his team’s midweek exertions may work against them when they return to the Bundesliga this weekend. The club have lost three of their last four matches in the league and trail Bayern Munich by 10 points, and the former Mainz coach is eager to get back to winning ways.
“We play very strong, difficult opponents who will try to exploit our tiredness after Marseille,” he said to the club’s official website.
“We want to squeeze everything out of this [victory]. But we have our job in the league to do. And [the victory] is not enough to do so.”
The 46-year-old took time to praise 18-year-old defender Sarr, who was thrown in for his senior debut against Marseille and completed the full 90 minutes against the French side.
He added: “One cannot imagine what a strain it must have been for Marian to get his debut in such an important Champions League game." ----------------------- goal.com
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