Dortmund's Bender out, Sokratis in as Spurs loom
Borussia Dortmund are missing Sven Bender, but welcome back centre-back Sokratis, for Sunday's tricky Bundesliga clash against Mainz with one eye on their Europa League clash at Tottenham Hotspur. Germany winger Marco Reus netted twice as Dortmund thumped Spurs 3-0 at their Signal Iduna Park stadium last Thursday in the last 16, first leg clash to leave Borussia on the verge of the quarter-finals. With the second leg at White Hart Lane beckoning on Thursday, Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel is unlikely to rotate his squad against Mainz to keep his stars fresh for London. "I haven't given much thought to rotation. We were very fresh against Tottenham," said Tuchel in Saturday's press conference. First up, Dortmund have a tricky tie at home to Mainz, who are the only team to have won at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena this season, when they poached a 2-1 win over Pep Guardiola's German league leaders a fortnight ago. Dortmund's Bender, who partnered Mats Hummels at centre-back against Spurs, is ruled out with a leg injury, but Greek central defender Sokratis is back following a few weeks out with a groin injury. Tuchel hopes to have Bender back for the return leg against Spurs. Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is also struggling to be fit for Mainz after suffering a foot injury against Spurs and Tuchel said they will make a decision before kick-off. Tuchel, 42, spent five years coaching Mainz up until 2014 and Dortmund won 2-0 in October on his first return to the Coface Arena last October. Under current coach Martin Schmidt, Mainz are challenging for a Champions League place next season. They have beaten key names in Germany's top flight in 2016 with wins over Borussia Moenchengladbach, Hanover 96, Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern. Now Schmidt is threatening to do to Dortmund what they did to Bayern. "We could also win in Dortmund," said the Swiss. "We're working hard with the win still in our heads. "It's the duel between Bayern's hunters and Bayern's conquerors. "It's not an accident that we're high up the table and fighting for fifth place. Now we want the next confirmation (of our form)."
