Pepe and Fabio Coentrao back in Real Madrid squad ahead of Borussia Dortmund trip

Real Madrid have two major absentees on the plane ahead of their Champions League group stage clash against Borussia Dortmund, with both Casemiro and Marcelo missing the trip. However, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao have both overcome knocks to return to the club's 22-man travelling squad.

The reigning Champions League winners visit the Signal Iduna Park following two consecutive draws in the league, against Villarreal and Las Palmas. However, Zinedine Zidane's boys still remain on top of La Liga ahead of rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, and are also undefeated since a 2-0 defeat to Wolfsburg in the first leg of the 2015-2016 Champions League quarter-final.

The game between Los Blancos and Dortmund is expected to be the key fixture in determining who tops Group F. Both teams started the campaign with victories, over Sporting CP and Legia Warszawa respectively, with Real scoring twice at the death to secure a dramatic 2-1 win over the Portuguese side.

But Zidane will be without two key players for the game, after Casemiro and Marcelo both missed the draw with Las Palmas over the weekend. The midfielder was diagnosed with a fracture to the central third of his left fibula last week and could be out of action for up to two months. Meanwhile, Marcelo went down with a muscle strain in the midweek draw with Villarreal and is expected to be missing until after the forthcoming international break.

Zizou has better news in his backline though, with Pepe and Coentrao returning to the travelling squad. However, it is still uncertain if they will make the cut for the final 18.

Pepe has missed two games with a fitness issue, while Coentrao is yet to play a game this season. He returned to the club over the summer following a long-term injury he sustained on loan at Monaco.

Cristiano Ronaldo is in the squad after being surprisingly substituted by Zidane during the 2-2 draw with Las Palmas, as his slow start to the season continues.