Liverpool vs. FC Augsburg: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Liverpool host FC Augsburg in the Europa League last-32 second-leg tie—just 70 hours before their League Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley.
It's a huge double header for Jurgen Klopp, who is seeking to collect the Reds' first silverware in four years on Sunday—but first he must navigate past the German opponents who collected a surprising 0-0 draw in last week's first leg.
Klopp fielded a full-strength side for the match in Bavaria—the first time he'd been able to select striker Daniel Sturridge in successive games, and the second time he and Brazilian duo Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino had featured together.
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Having just brushed aside Aston Villa 6-0, the expectation was that Liverpool would return to Merseyside with a first-leg advantage, thus then being able to rest one or two key players in the return game ahead of Sunday's final.
Alas, a poor performance saw Liverpool return without an advantage, and a goal for the away side at Anfield on Thursday would see the Reds needing at least two goals to progress to the last 16.
Liverpool remain favourites for the tie—especially given Augsburg's injury problems ahead of this match.
Date: Thursday, 25 February
Time: 6 p.m. GMT/1 p.m. ET
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
TV Info: BT Sport Europe (UK) / FOX Sports 1 and FOX Soccer 2GO (U.S.)
Live Stream: BT Sport Europe (UK) / Fox Sports 1 (U.S.)
Form Lines
Both sides have the same record in their last five games in all competitions; two draws, two defeats and one win.
Liverpool have had no game since the first leg last week, owing to their exit in the FA Cup, but Augsburg recorded a 1-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Hannover on Sunday.
Liverpool
Drew 0-0 vs. Augsburg (Europa League)
Won 6-0 vs. Aston Villa
Lost 2-1 vs. West Ham United (FA Cup)
Drew 2-2 vs. Sunderland
Lost 2-0 vs. Leicester City
Augsburg
Won 1-0 vs. Hamburg
Drew 0-0 vs. Liverpool (Europa League)
Lost 3-1 vs. Bayern Munich
Lost 2-1 vs. Ingolstadt
Drew 0-0 vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Team News
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Klopp explained that Joe Allen, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Martin Skrtel remain unavailable.
The Reds' boss refuted the idea of resting players ahead of Sunday's League Cup final, saying: "If you think about the second step before the first step you will always fall down."
Klopp explained that players like Sturridge and Coutinho needed to be playing to find "rhythm". It seems highly likely then that Liverpool will be unchanged from last week's lineup.
Augsburg are injury hit, missing several first-team players, including centre-forward and danger man Raul Bobadilla—who hobbled off in the early stages last week.
Augsburg manager Markus Weinzierl is also without Daniel Baier, Markus Feulner, Jeong-Ho Hong, Jan Moravek, Piotr Trochowski and Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker.
Predicted Lineups
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Toure, Sakho, Moreno, Can, Henderson, Milner, Firmino, Coutinho, Sturridge.
Augsburg: Hitz, Verhaegh, Klavan, Gouweleeuw, Max, Feulner, Caiuby, Esswein, Koo, Kohr, Finnbogason.
Players to Watch
Liverpool: Daniel Sturridge
This will be the first time Sturridge has started three games in a row for Liverpool since March last year.
Klopp explained that Sturridge—and Coutinho—need playing time to find rhythm. "Games for players like Phil or Daniel, it’s very important to play them for rhythm," he said.
Sturridge scored the opening goal in the rout at Aston Villa, but he struggled in last week's first leg—perhaps feeling the effects of his first back-to-back games since September.
Liverpool hope to give him another hour, then substitute the forward with Sunday's League Cup final in mind—providing the Reds are leading.
Augsburg: Ja-Cheol Koo
"We did really well at home, and we’ll try to do the same in Liverpool," Augsburg midfielder Ja-Cheol Koo told Bundesliga.com.
Koo is expected to come into the starting XI for the visitors after scoring the winning goal against Hannover on Sunday.
The South Korean attacking midfielder has four goals and two assists for the Bavarians this season and will be looking to exploit any weaknesses in Liverpool's defence.
Key Battle: Liverpool's Attack vs. Augsburg Defence
Liverpool created chances against Augsburg in the first leg, but they were unable to take them. Firmino produced a tame effort early on, while Sturridge failed to connect with Milner's cross in the second half.
Chances will surely arrive for the Reds again on Thursday evening and with Sturridge, Firmino and Coutinho all expected to start, the goals will eventually arrive.
Augsburg will likely look to sit deep and play on the counter-attack, which Liverpool must be aware of, but the key battle will be how tight the Germans keep it at the back, especially in the early exchanges.
Odds (via Oddschecker)
Liverpool: 4/9
Augsburg: 38/5
Draw: 4/1
* Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.
