The most important game of the season for Liverpool has arrived. Borussia Dortmund arrive for the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Europa League with the game finely poised at 1-1. Anfield will be rocking and the team bus will be welcomed by the supporters leading to the stadium and it will be Klopp’s first time of getting such a reception and no doubt he’ll love it.
Klopp recently said that he is in a dilemma of choosing his starting eleven for the all important clash. That’s a good dilemma to have and the German and his backroom staff have their work cut out. No doubt it will be an exciting contest but Liverpool have to play smartly and just not concede. At this stage, even a 0-0 will do and Klopp needs to do a lot of work on his defense to let them perform the same way as in the first leg.
Liverpool have complete domination over German opponents at Anfield, winning 13 out of the 16 times the reds have faced a German opponent at Anfield. They have never lost a game against the teams from the land of World Cup winners and Klopp will look to write his name in the folklores of the fans by beating this dominant Dortmund side. Let’s take a look at the three things that Klopp’s men have to do perfectly to beat Borussia Dortmund :
1. Play Sturridge and Origi both:
The duo complement each other very well and by playing the two, the Dortmund backline will be under a constant threat by the pace of Origi and the trickery of Sturridge. These two can hurt the opponents and as in the first leg, Liverpool are expected to play a defensive game with Tuchel’s men having a fair share of the ball. Having these two will increase the chances on the counter and the all important second goal can be scored with these two on the pitch. When Sturridge and Origi play together, Liverpool average a goal every 36.4 minutes. That is a very impressive stat to have and Klopp must utilise this even if it means playing Origi on the wings.
