Borussia Dortmund Confirm Marco Reus, Paco Alcacer Will Miss Spurs UCL Match

Borussia Dortmund confirmed on Tuesday that they will be without a number of key players for their UEFA Champions League showdown with Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, including Marco Reus and Paco Alcacer. 

The team's official Twitter account posted a list of absentees on the eve of the match at Wembley, with right-back Lukasz Piszczek and midfielder Julian Weigl also out:

Without Reus and Alcacer manager Lucien Favre will be missing his most prolific forwards, making this clash against Spurs a big challenge for the team.

Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard noted that BVB will push Mario Gotze into attack as a result of these problems:

So far in 2018-19 both Reus and Alcacer have excelled for Dortmund, scoring 13 and 12 times respectively in the Bundesliga. Their predatory instincts in front of goal were key to BVB progressing as group winners in the Champions League and have helped Borussia to a five-point lead at the top of the league standings.

Reus has long been besieged by injury issues, although Favre has been able to find a way of getting him on the field more often this term. That's been a major boost for Dortmund, as his creativity, dribbling skill and nose for goals have added an edge to their attacks.

As these figures illustrate, the Germany international enjoyed a return to his best last year:

Alcacer has been an inspired signing for BVB, arriving on loan from Barcelona initially before the transfer was made permanent. Having struggled for minutes at the Camp Nou, he's been a major threat up top for Favre's team, with his penalty-box instincts razor sharp.

The other two players not involved will also leave Favre with headaches, as the team is short of options at the back.

As of late Weigl has been filling in at centre-back for Dortmund alongside Abdou Diallo, with Manuel Akanji injured. Ronan Murphy of Goal thinks he'll be a tough man to replace:

Tottenham have injury woes of their own to contend with ahead of the game. Like Dortmund, they will be without two of their most important attackers in Harry Kane and Dele Alli.

The injuries are unlikely to dampen the enthusiasm among supporters ahead of what promises to be a fascinating contest between two exciting teams. Both Dortmund and Spurs performed admirably in the group stages of the competition, progressing from challenging pools, and will consider themselves dark horses for this title.