Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund will be without key midfielders Sven Bender and captain Sebastian Kehl for Sunday's match away to Hoffenheim.
Neither featured in Dortmund's 3-2 defeat at the hands of VfL Wolfsburg last Saturday, but Kehl has laboured with a knee infection since the end of November, while Germany international Bender has a groin injury.
Dortmund are third in the league table, while at the other end, Hoffenheim are third from bottom after sacking coach Markus Babbel on December 3 and desperate to break their five-match losing streak.
"Overall, Hoffenheim are a really good league team, who haven't had many good results up until now," said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp after his team lost their last two visits to Sinsheim, south-west Germany.
"You always have the feeling you have to play really well when you play there."
Source: AFP
