Klopp: Gotze and Bender are fit to face Bayern

Borussia Dortmund trainer Jurgen Klopp has announced that he will have a full squad available for selection on Wednesday as his side take on Bayern Munich.

The match sees the top two teams in the Bundesliga go head-to-head. And the trainer will be glad to welcome back Mario Gotze, who has not played since December due to injuries to his groin and hip cartilage.

“I have a big squad and many players to choose from,” Klopp told reporters at a press conference. “Mario trained as normal on Sunday and participated in training today. We’ll see how he can help us.”

The trainer also announced that midfielder Sven Bender is back to full fitness, meaning that only long-term casualty Julian Koch will miss out on the game.

Heading into the match, Klopp played down recent assertions from Munich that the Bavarians are a better side and will take three points.

“We know that Bayern have a lot of self-confidence, but such games are not decided by words,” he explained. “The difficult thing will be to bring our best performance at the right time on the pitch.”

Klopp also praised Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, but warned the Gelsenkirchen native, who played for BVB’s arch-rivals Schalke until this season, that he will receive a less than warm welcome in his return to the Signal Iduna Park.

“Neuer is a great goalkeeper, but he is not unbeatable,” Klopp said. “I’m afraid that the reception will not be very nice.”

Kick-off on Wednesday is scheduled for 20.00CET.