Forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is certain to feature in Thomas Tuchel's starting XI for Saturday's clash with VfL Wolfsburg. "He'll play for as long as he can – and hopefully score," the coach said. However, there are doubts surrounding the involvement of Raphael Guerreiro and Sokratis.

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"We sent Papa home as a precautionary measure. He feels a bit under the weather. But we haven't definitively ruled him out for tomorrow," said Tuchel following Friday evening's training session. Raphael Guerreiro did not train with the team either. "He needed to have treatment. A precautionary measure. We'll test him tomorrow morning," the coach explained.

Most of the personnel discussions at the press conference centred on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who spurned three gilt-edged chances in Lisbon on Tuesday. "Now wouldn't be the right time to give him a break," Tuchel began. The match in Darmstadt had initially been earmarked to rest the striker – who missed out on the mid-season preparations due to his participation in the African Nations Cup – "in a bid to get him back to 100 percent fitness. But this was not the signal we wanted to send, both internally and externally." It meant the Gabon international had to play 120 minutes of DFB Cup action against Hertha and 90 demanding minutes in the league, followed by Tuesday's Champions League tie – three games in the space of seven days. "It's very important that Auba plays tomorrow for as long as he can – and the best-case scenario would be for him to score again," Tuchel concluded. (br)