Europa League: 5 reasons Liverpool will beat Borussia Dortmund

1. Jurgen Klopp

This reason both encompasses and accentuates the others.

While the team has been inconsistent, Klopp can conjure great performances out of them. He won’t shy from the match, he won’t be afraid of Dortmund. He built that team, it’s his style of play, most of his old players.

Klopp will want to win this match desperately. He still loves Dortmund, and the club and its fans still love him. This gives him even more incentive not to lose. It’s like playing your best friend in anything that ends with a winner and a loser: you want to beat them worse than anyone else. It’s a friendly, passionate competitive fire.

As disappointing as Liverpool’s loss against Southampton was, it’s necessary to put things in perspective. If Liverpool fans were told on the day Brendan Rodgers was canned that they’d play in a Cup final and be traveling to Germany to play Dortmund in the last eight of the Europa League with Klopp as the manager, they’d be elated.

If Liverpool win anything this season, it should be viewed as a bonus. Klopp inherited these players and hasn’t had a prolonged period to train with them. But he has already made progress and will have an enormous role to play in the tie against Dortmund.

Liverpool’s hopes in this tie hinge on these five factors. If they can set aside the inconsistency for two games and really attack Dortmund, they’ll win. And they’ll be in the semifinals of the Europa League as favorites.

It would be a perfect opportunity for the Reds to let their fans down yet again, so close to Champions League qualification. But they need to be in position to let us down first. That’s all we ask.