The Paraguayan striker will be the German’s main threat tonight
Kick off: 20:05 pm
Venue: WWK Arena
The Reds will take to the pitch at the WWK Arena this evening to take on the first German side Jurgen Klopp has faced since leaving Borussia Dortmund last summer, and Liverpool will be hopeful of taking a positive result back for the return leg next week.
Much, of course, will depend on the team that Klopp fields. As Peter Krawietz said yesterday – it likely won’t be as easy as many people think it will.
That said, Liverpool now have the attacking triumvirate of Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino to call upon; something that gives you great confidence of at least getting a couple of goals.
And being ably supported from the bench by the likes of Divock Origi, Christian Benteke and Jordan Ibe gives the squad a much healthier look.
Klopp will also welcome Lucas back into the squad this evening, though the likes of Martin Skrtel, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren (away for family reasons) are still out for the match.
On the other hand, Augsburg are mostly injury free and will likely put out their strongest side, including top goalscorer and star man Raul Bobadilla.
The German minnows have had a superb few years after the club joined the Bundesliga for the first time, culminating in qualifying for the Europa League last season. Unfortunately, Augsburg are struggling this term and currently sit in 14th position following defeat to champions elect, Bayern Munich at the weekend.
Despite their struggles though, the two sides go into the game with the same record of 2 defeats, 2 draws and a win from their last five and Augsburg may well feel there are weaknesses to be exploited in the Liverpool back line. They wouldn’t be wrong to think that.
But provided Liverpool line up as similarly as possible to the team that hammered Villa at the weekend, there is every chance of bringing a first leg victory back to Anfield next week.
The game will be live on BT Sport this evening and you can catch our updates on Twitter.
Are you hopeful of a win this evening, and what would be you line-up? Give is a shout in the comments.
