Borussia Dortmund vs Liverpool – UEFA Europa League – Preview

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Sreya

Borussia Dortmund hosts Liverpool at the Signal Iduna Park on 7th April, Thursday in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League fixture. Jurgen Klopp returns to his former club and a memorable contest is expected with two similar tactical philosophies in Klopp and Tuchel coming face to face.

Borussia Dortmund, who are five points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich are the favorites, but Liverpool, with Klopp at helm, are plotting an upset on Thursday evening.

Borussia Dortmund overcame another English club Tottenham Hotspur in the previous round, winning both home and away. Liverpool defeated Manchester United in their Round of 16 tie, winning 2-0 at home and securing a scoring draw in the crucial second leg at Old Trafford.

Team News

Ilkay Gundogan is doubtful for the home side, with Tuchel having a healthy squad to choose from otherwise. Liverpool have a few injury concerns in Joe Allen, Joseph Gomez, Danny Ings, Kevin Stewart and Cameron Brannagan.

Borussia Dortmund Possible Starting Lineup: Roman Weidenfeller, Lukasz Pizsczek, Sokratis, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer, Nuri Sahin, Julian Weigl, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Shinji Kagawa, Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Liverpool Possible Starting Lineup: Simon Mignolet, Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren, Sakho, Alberto Moreno, Emre Can, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge.

Thoughts From Both Camps

“From the moment the whistle goes Jurgen Klopp will want nothing else than a win. And we too. Anything else but a warm welcome for Jurgen Klopp will be a surprise. We are now where we are because of our history with Jurgen.”

– Thomas Tuchel, Borussia Dortmund.

“We have looked at the way Dortmund play but my players haven’t travelled here without any hope we will get a result. Dortmund are the favourites, but if we show a top, top, top performance we can beat them. I’m not concerned with Dortmund’s individual qualities; I’m more about not seeing those surface tomorrow.”

– Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool.

Contributor’s Pick

According to Head-2-Head statistics, Liverpool has won two and drew one of the last three encounters with Borussia Dortmund. Liverpool have kept a clean sheet in their last three matches against Borussia Dortmund in all competitions.

Although Borussia Dortmund have won their last four UEFA Europa League matches, Liverpool are undefeated in their previous ten games in this competition. It should be a closely contested affair, but Borussia Dortmund are likely to prevail courtesy their home advantage with a 2-0 result in favor of the hosts being the most probable outcome.