Borussia Dortmund will host Bundesliga leaders Heidenheim at the Westfalenstadion on Friday evening. Kick-off is at 8:30 p.m. local time. Nuri Şahin can rely on an almost complete squad before the game. The only notable absentee is Nico Schlotterbeck, who is suspended after receiving a yellow-red card against Werder Bremen.

Due to a forced change, we can expect left-footed defender Ramy Bensebaini to start for Borussia Dortmund for the first time this season in place of Schlotterbeck. Şahin opts for a back three that could be converted into a back four at times, with the Algerian playing at left-back alongside Waldemar Anton, Niklas Süle and Julian Ryerson.

In place of Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Karim Adeyemi, who scored a hat-trick for Germany U21s during the international break, could be rewarded with a starting place on the left. These are likely to be the only two changes Şahin makes, with Gio Reyna unavailable for the foreseeable future after it was confirmed that the American was injured while on international duty.

In more positive news, Serhou Guirassy could potentially make his debut for Borussia Dortmund after increasing his training workload last week. The Guinean striker has not played for his new club since joining from Stuttgart in the summer.

Şahin also confirmed that Yan Couto, who is yet to make his Bundesliga debut, trained last week and will be in the squad for the matchday, provided the Brazilian does not suffer any further setbacks.

Expected line-up of Borussia Dortmund against Heidenheim

Gregor Kobel – Waldemar Anton, Niklas Süle, Ramy Bensebaini – Julian Ryerson, Emre Can, Pascal Gross, Karim Adeyemi – Marcel Sabitzer, Julian Brandt – Maximilian Beier

Daniel Pinder