Europa League: 5 reasons Liverpool will beat Borussia Dortmund

5. Inconsistencies

Yes, being inconsistent is a bad thing. But it’s better than being consistently bad.

It’s the hope that kills you, and Liverpool are second to none in giving fans false hope. They put in a couple of brilliant performances only to let fans down again when things are starting to look up.

There is nothing more Liverpool than crushing Manchester City 3-0, beating Manchester United 3-1 over two legs with two tremendous performances, blitzing Southampton on the way to a 2-0 halftime lead, and then conceding three goals in the second half to lose 3-2.

Fact: if Joe Allen’s disallowed goal against Southampton had counted and Liverpool had gone on to win that game 3-0, few would have balked at the idea of Liverpool knocking out Dortmund.

But one catastrophic half has changed things quite a bit. If the Reds can’t stop an onslaught led by Graziano Pellè, what in the world are they going to do to stifle Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang? (More on them later.)

That is a valid question. But Liverpool are equally as likely to concede three second-half goals against Southampton as they are to go to Dortmund and take something from the match. The Reds are so inconsistent and unpredictable, they still have reason to hope.

At this point, who cares if Liverpool drop points against Southampton? If they give it a proper go against Dortmund, all will be forgiven.

Next: 4. Attack, attack, attack