Europa League Match Preview: Liverpool vs Borussia Dortmund (Team News, Manager Quotes and Predicted Lineups)

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Liverpool goes with an away goal advantage into Anfield against German giants Dortmund. The first leg of this Europa League quarter-final was a fiercely contested fixture and both of these teams showed serious attacking intent. The Liverpool defence came out big at the Westfalenstadion and they cannot afford to sit back and take it easy at Anfield.

Liverpool team news

Manager Jurgen Klopp will be facing some difficult decisions before this game. Divock Origi has been in sublime form as seen in the first leg against Dortmund as well as against Stoke. Henderson’s place might be taken by Allen as he is effectively out for the season due to injury. So the decision between Sturridge and Origi might be a difficult one for him with the rest of the line-up remaining relatively unchanged from the first leg.

Dortmund team news

Dortmund’s draw against Schalke will be an anti-climax for manager Thomas Tuchel before the Liverpool game. He took a gamble by resting key players like Aubameyang, Reus and Mhhitaryan and paid the price. However, these star players are expected to be fresh before the Liverpool game and will have to play a key role for Dortmund to go through in this difficult trip to Anfield.

Dortmund was punished for being a little complacent and giving Divock Origi enough space to run through the defence for a shot on goal. The away goal means that they will have to work doubly hard in order to proceed to the next round. Key players for Dortmund would be Henrikh Mkhitaryan who put in a great performance in the first leg with some dangerous runs. Patrick Aubameyang has been in sensational form for Dortmund this season and he will have to step up for his team in this game. In defence, senior players like Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer will have to ensure that they do not leak any more goals.

Liverpool will be content with the performance which they put in the away game. However, the team’s weakness lies in set pieces and that is what let to them conceding a goal against Dortmund. Manager Jurgen Klopp will be faced with the difficult decision of playing either Sturridge or Origi. The latter has been immense for the Reds as he displayed with his performance against Dortmund as well as against Stoke in the Premier League. However, he may choose to start with both players as they showed that they can operate together after Origi was introduced in the second half of the Stoke fixture.

Manager quotes

Jurgen Klopp’s best quote being, ‘’I don’t want to describe myself. I’m a totally normal guy, I came from the Black Forest. I’m the Normal One.’’ This quote very well highlights how Jurgen Klopp has transformed his team by undermining his abilities and making Liverpool reach heights where it has today.

This quote of Thomas Tuchel clearly describes Dortmund’s gameplay, “There’s definitely a style that’s been attributed to me, that we brought to the table at Mainz: pace going forward and attack-minded football. I prefer certain qualities, an active playing style, bold defending and pacy play in attack.”

Liverpool predicted lineup

Mignolet, Sakho, Lovren, Clyne, Moreno, Can, Milner, Firmino, Coutinho, Allen, Origi.

Dortmund predicted lineups

Weifdenfeller, Hummels, Schmelzer, Bender, Piszczek, Reus, Mkhitaryan, Castro, Weigl, Durm, Aubameyang.

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