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| | | Six players doubtful! Klopp asks for "vitamin injection in form of noise" | | | | [7.02.] The objective on Saturday is clear. "We were a bit puzzled after the first game , but we also thought that we will get the points back in the second game," said BVB coach Jürgen Klopp in the build-up to the home match against Hamburger SV (KO: 1530 CET). However, BVB have a number of injury concerns to deal with. "Let´s see what we can conjure up," said Klopp on Thursday. | | |  | | Jürgen Klopp has worries over Roman Weidenfeller, among others. |
The BVB coach knows that there is often a high degree of mistrust when a multitude of players pull out of international friendlies, that it is regarded as "very convenient" by the public. "But in this case, nothing could be further from the truth," said Klopp. Marcel Schmelzer (bruised foot/throat infection), Marco Reus (groin strain) and Mario Götze (viral infection) didn´t stay in Dortmund to prepare properly for a tough week with three games (against Hamburg, Donetsk and Frankfurt) in eight days, they stayed home because they were injured and unable to train all week - as were Roman Weidenfeller, Lukasz Piszczek and Kevin Grosskreutz who returned to training on Wednesday only to be sent home sick again.
"As of this moment, Marcel and Kevin will not be available for selection on Saturday," said Klopp on Thursday. The other players may have a chance of playing, but they will not be in top shape. "We will come up with something," promised Klopp and added, "There won´t be any excuses, only a team that has practiced a little less than normal." And to compensate this, the BVB coach has asked the fans to make it a great atmosphere and get behind their team from the off, cheering them on to victory with a sound level higher than that of a plane taking off.  | | The support of the fans on Saturday is even more vital than usual! [pictures: firo] |
"The atmosphere in our stadium is always good, but it would be cool if we could top that on Saturday to extract an extra few percent that we didn´t have available during the training week. We could use some a vitamin injection in form of noise," said Klopp.
"We will definitively be able to field 11 players. The problem will be to fill the positions in a way that it looks like football," said Klopp. A change of system is possible, especially since Borussia often play with a ´Christmas tree´ 4-3-2-1 formation against teams opting for a 4-3-2-1 with a midfield diamond. A slightly modified 4-3-3 is another option if HSV come up with a different set up. It could, for example, "clear the way" for Blaszczykowski to play on the left of defence.
A lot of this, of course, depends what players the BVB coach will have at his disposal on Saturday. It could very well be that a decision will only be made after the warm-up to the game.
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