Liverpool vs. Borussia Dortmund: Areas Where the Tie Will Be Won or Lost
Thursday's second-leg matchup in the UEFA Europa League quarter-final between Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund figures to be a hard-fought battle for a spot in the final four.
The Reds are slight arithmetic favourites after scoring an away goal in the 1-1 draw at the Westfalenstadion in the first leg, but the tie is still in the balance.
History suggests it'll be a difficult game for the Black and Yellows: Per the club's official website, Liverpool are "unbeaten in 15 home games against German opposition."
Still, Dortmund have every reason to be optimistic. Team captain Mats Hummels, for example, told Thomas Hennecke of Kicker (link in German) the Black and Yellows will advance to the semi-finals if they manage to show their quality on the pitch better than they did in the first leg.
Both Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel rested a number of key players in anticipation of Thursday's match, with Tuchel even sacrificing the important Revierderby against local rivals Schalke.
Fitness and mental freshness shouldn't be big issues for either side, but what are some of the areas in which the tie will be won or lost?
Read on to find Bleacher Report's picks.
Liverpool's Pressing
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Liverpool's pressing was arguably the key to the first leg at the Westfalenstadion. Tactics blogger Constantin Eckner called it a "trademark underdog performance" from Klopp's side in a piece for YellowWallPod.com.
The Reds made the game uncomfortable for Dortmund in the buildup phase, forcing the ball out wide early and often. Tom Payne of Spielverlagerung.de noted after the game:
"The result of Liverpool’s attempts to press was quite a chaotic game at times. Dortmund situationally struggled to establish control over the ball and play in the centre of the pitch was often unclean with quite a high tempo. The home side’s ability to control the rhythm of the game was restricted from their usual standards and their greatest attacking potential came through faster attacks when they managed to break the lines of pressure.
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The Black and Yellows created very few goalscoring opportunities from open play—Hummels' equaliser came after a short corner kick—and generally didn't look like their usual, dominant selves, to Liverpool's credit.
There's hope for Dortmund, however, in Ilkay Gundogan.
The Germany international returned to the team at the weekend, following a month-long absence because of a bruised foot. The 25-year-old looked good in his 17-minute cameo appearance against Schalke, showing no signs of rust despite missing six games.
Gundogan will probably not make it through the full match, especially if it goes to extra time, but his creativity and pressing resistance should put him in the starting XI.
It wouldn't be surprising to see Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa selected next to him in Dortmund's midfield trio, after the 27-year-old scored a beauty against Schalke and looked lively throughout the game.
Dortmund could benefit from playing a more technically skilled selection of midfielders than they did in the first leg, particularly against a Liverpool side that will be missing skipper Jordan Henderson's athleticism.
Converting Chances
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Liverpool have an interesting record in the Europa League. They're the only unbeaten side in the competition, but they've drawn a whopping seven of their 11 matches.
Scoring more than one goal in only two games—at home against Girondins de Bordeaux and Manchester United—the Reds have hardly been in sparkling form in front of goal on Thursday evenings this season.
That includes the first meeting with Dortmund, a game Liverpool could have easily won, with Divock Origi missing a chance to double their lead in stoppage time of the first half and Philippe Coutinho and Alberto Moreno missing three chances in a span of 31 seconds in the second half.
With that said, the Merseyside club are arguably at the top of their game at the moment, having dismantled Stoke City at the weekend, despite playing a weakened side.
Klopp is spoilt for choice up top, as Liverpool blog This Is Anfield debated, seeing as Origi followed up his goal at Dortmund with a brace off the bench on Sunday, and Daniel Sturridge is undoubtedly the side's most dangerous attacker. Roberto Firmino also figures to be in the mix, having returned to the starting XI at the weekend.
Of course, Liverpool don't need to score a goal if they don't concede one, but playing for a goalless draw almost never works.
Dortmund have scored a club-record 119 goals in their 48 competitive matches this season, per the Europa League on Twitter, and are expected to come out with guns blazing at Anfield. Two goals should do the job, as they've only conceded more than twice themselves three times this campaign.
The Black and Yellows' fearsome attacking trio of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus has hit a bit of a snag in recent weeks, but they're all fresh after the Revierderby. Mkhitaryan played only one half, Aubameyang came on in the 73rd minute and Reus didn't play at all.
Goalkeeping
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It's fairly obvious but well worth noting nonetheless: Goalkeeping will be a huge factor in this game.
Liverpool's Simon Mignolet should have the edge over Roman Weidenfeller in Dortmund's goal, seeing as Mignolet is his side's first-choice stopper and has played in 47 matches across all competitions, compared to only 13 for Weidenfeller.
In the first leg, however, it was the 35-year-old world champion who looked the part. Granted, Mignolet had fairly little opportunity to show his worth, as the Black and Yellows didn't create many clear-cut chances, but Weidenfeller's performance was impressive nonetheless.
The former Germany international was the best player on the pitch at the Westfalenstadion, with a huge save in a one-on-one against Divock Origi and the aforementioned triple save keeping the tie within the Ruhr side's reach.
Weidenfeller's performance was extraordinary in the true sense of the word—there's a reason he lost his regular starting spot to Mitchell Langerak in 2015 and again to Roman Burki this season. He and Mignolet, who's always good for a head-scratching mistake, will be on the spot on Thursday.
That focus will intensify should the game go to penalties—not at all an unlikely scenario, considering the Reds have drawn 1-1 nine times across all competitions this season, including in five Europa League games.
Weidenfeller has never been much of a penalty-saver—his prominent one against Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben in the 2011/12 Bundesliga title race notwithstanding—while Mignolet saved two against Stoke in the Capital One Cup in January but none against Manchester City in the final of that competition on February 28.
Lars Pollmann is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
