Liverpool vs Borussia Dortmund – UEFA Europa League – Preview

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Sreya

Liverpool hosts Borussia Dortmund at Anfield on 14th April, Thursday for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final tie after the first leg ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

Liverpool opened scoring in Germany through a clever finish from youngster Divock Origi. Although Mats Hummels cancelled the opener, Liverpool came away with a crucial away goal which might prove beneficial to progress through to the semi-finals.

Team News

Liverpool will be without Jordan Henderson (knee), Christian Benteke (knee), Rossiter (hamstring), Danny Ings (knee) and Joseph Gomez (knee). Neven Subotic, sidelined with an arm injury is Dortmund’s only absentee.

Liverpool Possible Starting Lineup: Simon Mignolet, Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren, Mamadou Sakho, Alberto Moreno, Joe Allen, Emre Can, James Milner, Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho, Divock Origi.

Borussia Dortmund Possible Starting Lineup: Roman Weidenfeller, Lukasz Piszczek, Mats Hummels, Sokratis, Marcel Schmelzer, Julian Weigl, Ilkay Gündogan, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Gonzalo Castro, Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Thoughts From Both Camps

“We have a great chance. We are looking to go further. Being brave is one of most important things in football. We have enough quality to get through to the semi-finals. You have to look at the type of football they play and it is very good. There is no reason to expect that to change. We certainly won’t be flying a white flag. Dortmund can play better but so can we.”

– Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool.

“It is very exciting to be here. I feel like a little kid! The team, though, are very calm. Everyone knows the Kop. Everyone knows the history. Everyone knows the stars and the red shirts.

I don’t care too much about the first leg, I don’t think it will be decisive. We are here to attack – we are here to score goals, to take the risks and to enjoy the game. We are not here to explore our boundaries, we are here to explore our potential.”

– Thomas Tuchel, Borussia Dortmund.

Contributor’s Pick

According to Head-2-Head statistics, Liverpool have won two and drawn two of their previous four meetings with Borussia Dortmund. While Borussia Dortmund are undefeated in seventeen of their last nineteen UEFA Europa League matches, Liverpool are undefeated in their last eleven matches in the same competition.

It should be a closely contested affair with a 1-1 draw after normal time being the most probable outcome. The match could go either way should it progress to extra time and penalties, but Borussia Dortmund have an advantage with respect to the lesser number of injuries in their squad.