Liverpool travel to Germany to take on Bundesliga strugglers Augsburg in the first knock-out round of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
Augsburg are currently lying just a point above the relegation zone in the Bundesliga, sitting in 14th position in the 18-team league.
The German outfit hosted Bayern Munich at the weekend and lost 3-1, stretching their winless run to three games in the league.
Liverpool, on the other hand, warmed up for the tie with a 6-0 thrashing of the Premier League’s bottom side, Aston Villa. The Reds welcomed Daniel Sturridge in the starting XI, fielding the trio of Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho for the first time.
Team News
Augsburg
Possible starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Hitz; Stafylidis, Klavan, Hong, Verhaegh; Kohr, Koo; Caiuby, Altintop, Esswein; Bobadilla
Liverpool
Possible starting line-up (4-3-3): Mignolet; Moreno, Sakho, Toure, Clyne; Can, Henderson, Milner; Origi, Coutinho, Firmino
Match Stats
- Augsburg have won only 5 times in their entire Bundesliga campaign so far
- Two of those 5 wins have come in the last 5 league games
- In the 10 games his Borussia Dortmund side played against Augsburg, Jurgen Klopp won just twice, losing on five occasions
- Augsburg have scored at least twice in their last 3 UEFA Europa League ties
- Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 6 UEFA Europa League games
Prediction
Augsburg 1-3 Liverpool
With Augsburg not in the greatest form this season, Liverpool should be able to get a good result in Germany if they have the right attitude on the pitch.
Given that they have their best attackers back and in goal-scoring form again (Coutinho, Sturridge, Origi, Firmino have all scored in the last two games), they should not find it hard to take back a positive result to Anfield for the decisive leg.
Odds (Bet365.com)
- Augsburg win: 11/4
- Draw: 5/2
- Liverpool win: 11/10
