This is first time Jurgen Klopp will be back at the Westfalenstadion since leaving at the end of the 2014/15 season, and Tuchel expects nothing less than a warm reception for the club legend.
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Who could come in?
They’ve been just as dominant in European competition, easing through the group stage before powering past FC Porto and Tottenham Hotspur in the last 32 and last 16 respectively, two opponents that were expected to cause Thomas Tuchel’s team at least some sort of problem.
Liverpool’s fans and players celebrate Daniel Sturridge’s opener against United (photo: Getty Images) Who holds the key for each side?
“It is all about the moment and we need to use the moment tomorrow”, he said.
‘If we can score it puts us in a strong position for the second game. Having so often upset the odds while in charge at Dortmund, Klopp is now tasked with doing the same against them.
Dortmund is also a team that has been given a potentially significant injury boost with first team players Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan, and Sokratis Papastathopoulos all once again training with the first team.
“Anything but a very, very warm welcome would be a big surprise”.
“We’ve always played versus our best friends and always wanted to beat them”. It was during that season’s Champions League that these sides last played each other.
A 2-1 win at Eibar on Sunday gave Villarreal control of fourth place in the Spanish league with an eight-point cushion over fifth-place Celta Vigo.
Donetsk, 8-1 winners over Metalist Kharkiv in their domestic league on last weekend, have coped admirably with the sale of Alex Teixeira in the January transfer window and have recently posted away Europa League wins at Schalke (3-0) and Anderlecht (1-0).
Both clubs play similar styles, utilizing the high press and while trying to force mistakes further up the pitch.
Sparta, meanwhile, is undefeated in 12 Europa League matches and has won its last three away matches in the tournament.
Villarreal hasn’t conceded a goal while winning all five of its home matches in Europe this season. “It’s another path for us if we win this competition”.
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However, Sparta have proved a real breath of fresh air in the Europa League this term and they remain unbeaten after 12 games.
