TSG Hoffenheim are to visit Anfield, to face Liverpool in the second leg of UCL Qualification Playoffs on Wednesday night. The German outfit conceded two away goals in the first leg, before Mark Uth pulled one back, late in the game. It wasn’t, by any means, a bad scoreline for Liverpool, who were kind of outplayed by Julian Nagelsmann’s troops but a brilliant free-kick from youngster Trent-Alexander Arnold and a deflected goal from James Milner, gave the Reds an advantage going into the second leg.
However, that being said, Hoffenheim are looking quite fierce and committed to going through to the next stage. Defender Kevin Vogt was pretty confident of his side’s credibility in defeating Liverpool, saying, “It’s beyond debate that we’re capable of scoring two or more goals.
“We’ll take to the pitch with a lot of self-confidence and throw everything in so we can win there.” – he said, as per ESPN.
So, with Hoffenheim coming at them in full force, what tactics should coach Jurgen Klopp next plan to utilize, in order to safely go through to the main stage of the coveted tournament?
First and foremost, Hoffenheim’s main weakness is their build-up game. Nagelsmann’s TSG have lost their main holding midfielder Sebastian Rudy this summer to Bayern Munich.
Rudy was the midfield lynchpin for his side. A catalyst, who could not only facilitate the ball possession but also offer a significant cover for his backline. Having lost Rudy, Nagelsmann, now critically lacks a similar player who could emulate the role of the 27-year-old in midfield.
He tried with Kerem Demirbay, to do the job in the first leg, giving the attacking midfielder, a slightly deeper role but that failed horribly as Demirbay was more focused on his attacking duties.
In their weekend fixture against Werder Bremen, however, Nagelsmann chose to start with young Dennis Geiger, the 19-year-old Hoffenheim youth product. Geiger played incredibly well, given his age, and could be a likely starter against Liverpool. Therefore, the Reds need someone bossy in midfield. Someone, who could potentially threaten the young Geiger.
Emre Can seems to be the right man to do but his services are required elsewhere in midfield. Thus, we can expect Gini Wijnaldum to mark Geiger tightly, in order to prevent Hoffenheim to facilitate attacks through the middle.
Another important man for Hoffenheim could be defender Kevin Vogt. The former Cologne defender was their main man in ball distribution against Werder, as he completed the most passes than anyone else on the opening matchday.
Vogt was instrumental in many of Hoffenheim’s transition from defence to attack. Either of Liverpool’s front three need to press him tightly and make sure he doesn’t get the chance to march forward in regular intervals. His proficiency in playing long balls or making short passes could well be the X-factor for TSG.
Last but not the least, Liverpool definitely need some luck in order to go through with ease. In the first leg, Hoffenheim were unlucky to concede Milner’s goal, but in the weekend win over Werder Bremen, they were hugely lucky to see Andrej Kramaric’s effort getting deflected and ending up in the back of the net, much to the dismay of Werder goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka. We never know, whose side luck is going to take, if in any case, luck favours the visitors, then Liverpool might be in for a long night.
