Augsburg v Liverpool background

FC Augsburg take on Liverpool FC in their most prestigious UEFA Europa League game to date, with Jürgen Klopp returning to his native Germany for an 11th encounter with the Fuggerstädter.

Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time and this is Augsburg's maiden date with English opponents.

• Liverpool's record in 32 games against German teams is W15 D11 L6 (W11 D3 L0 at home – W2 D7 L5 in Germany – W2 D1 L1 on neutral territory). They won their first European trophy by beating VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 1973 UEFA Cup final and overcame the same opponents in the 1977 European Champion Clubs' Cup decider.

Form guide
• Augsburg have lost two of their three European home fixtures to date, those matches producing 14 goals.

• Liverpool are unbeaten in Europe this season (W2 D4), that run including all four of their continental games under Klopp (W2 D2).

• Founded in 1907, Augsburg finished fifth in Germany last term to qualify directly for the UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Liverpool lost to Beşiktaş JK on penalties in last season's round of 32 and to FC Zenit at the same stage of their previous UEFA Europa League appearance, in 2012/13. The 1973, 1976 and 2001 UEFA Cup winners last made it to the round of 16 in 2010/11, eliminating AC Sparta Praha and then bowing out to SC Braga.

Trivia and links.
• The journey from Liverpool to Augsburg is around 1,100km.

• Augsburg's Raúl Bobadilla and Athletic Club's Aritz Aduriz are the six-goal top scorers in this season's UEFA Europa League.

• Liverpool left-back Alberto Moreno and Augsburg midfielder Piotr Trochowski were team-mates at Sevilla FC from 2012 to 2014.

• Augsburg right-back Daniel Opare featured in the second leg as Beşiktaş ousted Liverpool last year.

• Augsburg's Austrian goalkeeper Alex Manninger was at Arsenal FC from 1997 to 2002, as back-up to David Seaman.

• Augsburg's Greek international Kostas Stafylidis played in England with Fulham FC (2014/15) – he, Dominik Kohr and Liverpool's Emre Can were team-mates at Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2013/14.

• While at Leverkusen, Can scored two of his four Bundesliga goals against Augsburg – in a 2-1 home win on 26 October 2013 and in a 3-1 away victory on 26 March 2014.

• Liverpool's Roberto Firmino has also played in the Bundesliga (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, 2011–15).

• Augsburg's South Korea striker Ji Dong-won was on the books at Dortmund during Klopp's time in charge. He managed two goals in 24 Premier League appearances for Liverpool's domestic rivals Sunderland AFC between 2011 and 2014.

The coaches
• Ausgburg coach Markus Weinzierl's playing career peaked when he spent a season with the first-team squad at FC Bayern München, though he never played a senior game. Augsburg appointed him in 2012 following a spell at SSV Jahn Regensburg and he has thrived in the role, last term's fifth-place finish a club best.

• Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool manager last October. His Dortmund side won the Bundesliga in 2010/11, scooped a double the next season and lost to Bayern in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final.