Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's Europa League clash between Augsburg and Liverpool at the WWK Arena. These two could not be much further apart in terms of European pedigree, but Augsburg will be looking to spring a shock over the two legs and continue to break new ground in continental football. Team news should be arriving in around five minutes, so what can we expect from the managers tonight?

Well, as far as the hosts are concerned they will be without influential midfielder Daniel Baier as one of a number of injury absentees this evening. They have a few doubts over other players too, but any changes made by manager Markus Weinzierl to the team that he fielded against Bayern Munich at the weekend are expected to be fairly minimal.

As for Liverpool, their injury troubles are slowly subsiding, but they will still be without Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren this evening, amongst others. Both missed the weekend rout of Aston Villa and have not recovered in time to feature this season, while Lucas is a doubt due to a hamstring injury.

AUGSBURG STARTING XI: Hitz; Verhaegh, Janker, Klavan, Stafylidis; Esswein, Kohr, Feulner, Altintop, Werner; Bobadilla

AUGSBURG SUBS: Opare, Koo, Ji, Gelios, Caiuby, Max, Thommy

LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Mignolet; Clyne, Toure, Sakho, Moreno; Henderson, Can, Milner, Coutinho, Firmino; Sturridge

LIVERPOOL SUBS: Ward, Randall, Caulker, Lucas, Ibe, Origi, Benteke

What can we make of those two sides, then? Well, the big danger man as far as the hosts are concerned this evening is striker Raul Bobadilla. He is their top scorer in the Bundesliga this term, but has saved his best performances for this competition. Indeed, no player scored more than Bobadilla during the group stages, with his tally of six being level with that of Aritz Aduriz.

He is the main man for Liverpool to keep tabs on, then, but there are one or two players that they won't have to do too much research on. Followers of English football may recognise a couple of names in their squad, including that of Kostas Stafylidis, who played for Fulham last season. He and Dominik Kohr, who starts in midfield for the hosts tonight, were once teammates of Liverpool's Emre Can at Bayer Leverkusen.

On the opposite side of the defence to Stafylidis is Daniel Opare, who was part of the Besiktas side that knocked Liverpool out of this competition at this very stage last season, after the Reds had failed to make it through the Champions League group stages. Ji Dong-won will also be a familiar name for many having played for Sunderland between 2011 and 2014, scoring two goals in 24 Premier League appearances. He was also once on the books at Borussia Dortmund while Klopp was manager there.

In all, Weinzierl has made six changes to the team that was beaten by Bayern Munich at the weekend, which is more than was perhaps expected. Janker comes into the heart of the defence in place of Hong, who is struggling with a thigh problem, while Esswein, Feulner, Altintop and Werner all also come into the starting XI.

As for Liverpool, they have made no changes at all to their starting lineup, which is an indication of how seriously Klopp is taking this competition. The German has tended to use non-Premier League matches as an opportunity to rotate his squad, but their recent FA Cup exit has freed up their schedule somewhat and, as a result, Klopp is able to name a strong starting XI for tonight's match. Indeed, with the players available to him, it is arguably the strongest side he could have picked.

That means that Daniel Sturridge leads the line, fresh from marking his first Premier League start under Jurgen Klopp with the opening goal against Aston Villa at the weekend. There is little doubt that the striker makes Liverpool look like a much more threatening unit, with movement in the final third and a touch of guile that the likes of Benteke lack. If they can keep him fit for the remainder of the season, which is by no means a guarantee, then they could go far in this competition.

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He will be assisted going forward by the Brazilian duo of Coutinho, himself fit again after recent injury problems, and Firmino, who has blow hot and cold for Liverpool so far but can be devastating on his day, particularly when linking up with the likes of Coutinho and Sturridge. The energetic midfield trio of Henderson, Can and Milner, the latter two of whom both scored at the weekend, continue in the middle of the park.

With Lovren and Skrtel sidelined, it is no surprise that the back four is also unchanged, with Toure, who capped off the rout against Villa, partnering Sakho at the heart of the defence. It is a defensive pairing that could be susceptible to pace and Bobadilla will certainly fancy his chances of getting some joy from them. Clyne, yet another who scored against Villa, and Moreno once again take up their positions on the flanks.

It is a Liverpool side that arrive at the WWK Arena as heavy favourites to progress to the last 16, and it is easy to see why too. In comparison to Liverpool, Augsburg are a tiny club for whom being in this situation is an unprecedented success. Compare that to their opponents tonight, who may feel that the last 32 of the Europa League is not where a club of their stature belongs, and it gives some idea of how big this is for the hosts tonight.

Indeed, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp described it as the biggest match in Augsburg's history, and their rise to this stage has been impressive. They were only promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time ever in 2011, before going on to finish fifth in the league last season, against all expectations. Needless to say, it was the best finish in the club's history and resulted in their first European campaign, so for them to have even got through to the knockout stages deserves to be applauded.

They may be underdogs, then, but they will be the first to warn that they are not solely here to make up the numbers. They have defied expectations on numerous occasions in recent years, and victory over the might of Liverpool would be another notable step in the right direction for the club. It would certainly help to take some of the attention off their league form too, which has not been too positive so far this term.

Augsburg have struggled to build on or maintain last season's level of performance, understandably, and find themselves in danger of dropping back down to the second tier of German football this season. They are currently 14th in the Bundesliga, just one point above the relegation playoff place and 12 adrift of the Europa League spots they occupied in 2014-15. There is at least a bit of breathing space to the automatic relegation places, and their goal difference is good compared to the teams around them, but the threat of the drop is certainly present.

They don't come into this match in very good form at all, having failed to win any of their four outings since the winter break. The last time they picked up a win was on December 19, and a defeat this evening would see them fall to three in a row for the first time since September-October. The most recent of those defeats did come against Bayern Munich, though, which is a match that not many would have expected them to get anything from.

Worryingly for the hosts this evening, their away form has been significantly better than their home form this season. They have won just one of their last seven competitive outings at the WWK Arena and only three of 15 all season. In the Bundesliga they have scored just 10 goals and picked up nine points from 11 home games, compared to 12 points and 13 goals from 10 matches on the road.

It was the same story in the group stage too. Augsburg sneaked through to the last 32 on goal difference from Group L, beating out competition from Partizan having both finished on nine points. Only one of Augsburg's three wins came at home, though, where they both scored and conceded seven goals in their three outings. In comparison, they won two of their three away outings, so they may actually be looking at the return trip to Anfield as their best chance to get through in this tie.

In an ideal world for Klopp, Liverpool would have the tie dead and buried by the time the Germans visit Merseyside, and his side have shown on a few occasions that they are capable of doing it. Not least on Sunday when the Reds hit Aston Villa for six, condemning Remi Garde's side to their heaviest home league defeat since 1935, 81 years ago. Liverpool boasted six different scorers as they put the relegation-bound Villans to the sword for the biggest win of the Klopp era so far.

It was yet another case of Liverpool's best performances under Klopp having come away from home this season. The wins over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium and Southampton at St Mary's all provided glimpses of what Liverpool are capable of when on top form, but they haven't shown that on enough occasions. They have not won consecutive away games in any competition since those wins against City and Southampton in November-December, and have only won four of their last 11 games on the road in all.

That isn't the worse record by any stretch of the imagination, but it is also not good enough for a club with Liverpool's ambitions. It is the inconsistency of performances that seems to be the main problem, which is why there is still some degree of doubt over which Liverpool will turn up tonight despite their rout of Aston Villa at the weekend. Some weeks they look incapable of hitting a barn door with a banjo, and others everything they do seems to come off. Klopp just needs to find a formula for the latter to come true more often than it has so far.

Liverpool will have the rare luxury of a week off after this match, although that does come at the expense of an FA Cup exit. It may well be a blessing in disguise, though, as Liverpool's league position means that this competition, in addition to the fast-approaching League Cup final against Manchester City, could be the priority now for the Reds. They are nine points adrift of the Champions League places in the Premier League, so winning the Europa League is beginning to look like their most likely route in.

They weren't entirely convincing in the group stages, despite being one of only five teams to come through without losing a game. They only won two, which was the fewest of any of the group winners, but it was enough to take them to the top of Group B, ahead of Sion and Rubin Kazan. Not only did they not win many games, they also did not score many goals - just six from their six group games. Fellow Group B qualifiers Sion are the only side in the knockout stages to have a worse attacking record.

The last two times that they have reached this stage of the competition, they have been knocked out. Last season they dropped into the Europa League having been knocked out of the Champions League, losing out to Real Madrid and Basel in the group stages. They found themselves up against Besiktas in the last 32 and, despite winning the first leg, went on to lose on penalties. In 2013, which was their most recent appearance in the competition before last term, it was Zenit who eliminated Liverpool at this stage.

Away from home, Liverpool have only won two of their last seven games in this competition, scoring just three goals in that time too. As already mentioned, though, Klopp's side can suddenly look unbeatable on the road at times, and in the Premier League only three teams have a better away record than them, both in terms of points and goals scored. A couple more away goals tonight could go a long way to killing this tie off.

PREDICTION: We're 10 minutes from kickoff at the WWK Arena, which means that it is time for a prediction! It is always tough to call with Liverpool, but they did look a different prospect with Coutinho and Sturridge both back at the weekend. Even if they fail to hit the heights they did at Villa Park, they should have enough about them to win tonight, so I'm going for a 2-0 away victory.

To celebrate the return of European football this week, we recorded a bonus edition of our podcast 'The Dugout', discussing Champions League and Europa League matters. You can have a listen to that below:

This being Augsburg's first foray into European football, these two sides have never played each other in a competitive game before, and Augsburg have never faced English opposition before. The territory is not quite as uncharted for Liverpool, though, who obviously have Jurgen Klopp returning to his home country for the first time as Liverpool manager. He came up against Augsburg eight times as a manager in the Bundesliga and lost just once, although that was in the most recent meeting when Bobadilla scored the only goal of the game a year ago.

Liverpool have won four of their last five European meetings with German opposition, won have only ever won two of their 14 meetings on German soil. The last of those came against Leverkusen in the 2004-05 Champions League, with Liverpool beating the Bundesliga outfit in the last 16 on their way to winning the whole thing. Overall, Liverpool's record from 32 meetings with German opposition stands at 15 wins, 11 draws and six defeats.

It hasn't been a great night for the English clubs so far, though. Manchester United have slumped to a poor 2-1 defeat at the hands of FC Midtjylland in Denmark, while Spurs have been held to a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina in Florence.

KICKOFF: Augsburg get us underway amidst a cracking atmosphere at the WWK Arena, with a lot of noise being made by the visiting fans in particular.

CHANCE! The first opening of the game falls to the home side as Sakho can only clear a cross to the edge of the area where Bobadilla is waiting. He doesn't connect well with his half-volley, however, and it bounces up and over the crossbar.

The hosts have made a good, positive start to this match. They have seen a lot of the ball and are looking quite threatening when they come forward too. The first five minutes has belonged to the Germans!

There really is a good atmosphere inside the WWK Arena tonight, with the home fans making the most of what is a special occasion for them. They will be pleased with what they have seen on the pitch so far too.

CHANCE! Big chance for Liverpool, who haven't been in this game at all. It is gifted to them as a poor pass back towards the defence is picked up by Firmino in space. He twists past one challenge, but his shot from the edge of the box is tame and easy for the keeper.

Almost a shooting chance for Sturridge in the box, but he is thwarted before he can get a shot away. Just a couple of signs of Liverpool beginning to grow into the match a little.

Liverpool come forward down the right flank and win a corner, which Milner will go across to take...

CHANCE! Half a chance for Liverpool as the corner is flicked on and Sturridge manages to get something on it under heavy pressure. He is never getting enough power on it, though, and it is easy for Hitz to catch.

We're 15 minutes in now, and in terms of general play I'd say that Augsburg have just about edged it so far. However, Liverpool have had the best chance of the game, through Firmino, and are beginning to establish themselves in the game.

Good period of possession for Liverpool as they knock the ball around confidently, stringing their best spell of passes together so far. Nothing comes of it, but they are slowly taking some of the sting out of the atmosphere.

YELLOW CARD! Janker becomes the first name in the book for a late challenge on Sakho, catching the Liverpool defender on the ankle.

CHANCE! Almost a chance for Liverpool as Coutinho picks the ball up 25 yards from goal having seen an initial pass blocked by the defence. This time he nips in a pokes a ball through towards Sturridge, but a defender gets there first and the ball bounces off the striker into the arms of the keeper.

AUGSBURG SUB: This is a big blow for the hosts as Bobadilla limps off with what looks like it may be a hamstring problem. On comes Caiuby in his place.

Clyne concedes a free kick in a decent position for Augsburg, although it is perhaps just out of shooting range. Sure enough, Werner swings it into a dangerous position, where Toure is there to hook it away.

The ball drops to Altintop around 25 yards from goal and he hooks a volley towards goal, but it is always going wide and Mignolet gathers it easily.

Still not too much to shout about for either side in this match so far. All of the chances so far have only really been half-chances, with the possible exception of Firmino's effort from the edge of the box.

It has been pretty even here, with a stat just having flashed up on the screen showing that Augsburg had completed 170 passes to Liverpool's 171. Neither have been able to really grab control of the contest so far.

Roberto Firmino has had the best sight of goal so far, and here he is tussling with Markus Feulner for possession on this cold, cold night at the WWK Arena.

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SHOT! Liverpool find a rare bit of space in the Augsburg half as Sturridge drives forward. He has support on either side, but goes for goal himself. His effort isn't the best, but it deflects off a defender and bounces a couple of yards wide.

SAVE! The resulting corner is played out to Henderson on the edge of the box, but his strike lacks power and is straight at the keeper.

Augsburg nip in to win the ball from a Sakho pass, taking advantage of a slip by Coutinho. The hosts come forward down the right and are in a good position, but Caiuby's cross is poor and cleared away.

Augsburg win a free kick in a good position that is flicked on inside the box, but Firmino is there to nod it away. It only goes as far as Stafylidis, whose ambitious long-range volley hits a defenders and goes behind for a corner, which comes to nothing.

SHOT! Decent spell of pressure here from the hosts, and Can doesn't help by gifting the ball straight to Kohr. He immediately lets fly and gets plenty behind his effort, but it flies a couple of yards wide.

UPDATE: It hasn't been a great day for Manchester United, who were beaten by minnows Midtjylland earlier, but one of their former players is having a rare celebratory day at Valencia. Gary Neville's side have raced into a 5-0 lead against Rapid Vienna inside 35 minutes and look to have their place in the last 16 wrapped up in double-quick time.

CHANCE! Huge chance for Augsburg right at the end of the half! They play the ball out really well from the back and come racing down the right. Esswein is played through inside the box and cuts back past his marker, but Mignolet is there to make a vital stop.

The first half comes to an end at the WWK Arena, and in truth it wasn't a very good one. We are still goalless after the opening 45 minutes, and there haven't been many signs of that changing so far. It has been too slow and aimless really, from Liverpool especially.

The best chance of the half fell the way of the home side right on the stroke of half time when they played their way out of the defence and took advantage of some lax Liverpool cover to get in behind down the right flank. Esswein was played through before cutting inside Toure and seeing his effort well saved by Mignolet.

Liverpool's best opening of the half came in the eighth minute via a gift from Augsburg as Firmino picked up a loose pass deep in home territory. The Brazilian managed to beat the only defender between himself and the goal, but his shot from the edge of the box was really disappointing and easy for the keeper to collect.

Aside from that, all sights of goal have been half-chances at best really. Augsburg have been the better side in terms of general play, seeing a decent amount of the ball in Liverpool territory. The majority of the half-chances have fallen the way of Liverpool, but they haven't threatened anywhere as much as they would have liked so far.

KICKOFF: Liverpool get us back underway for the second half as they look to get a valuable away goal to take back to Anfield next week.

It will be interesting to see how Liverpool approach this second half. In terms of the tie, a goalless draw would be a decent result for Liverpool to take back to Anfield, but the second leg does come just a few days before the League Cup final, so Klopp may want to rest a few players if he is able.

Well, there haven't been too many signs of this one livening up in the opening stages of the second half. This game really is crying out for a goal.

CHANCE! Another half-chance for Liverpool at the end of one of their better passing moves this evening. They work it out to the left for Moreno, who cuts a low cross back into the middle. Coutinho, who was involved in the build-up is the man on the end of it, but he pokes his effort a few yards wide of the near post.

CHANCE! Big chance for Liverpool! Milner plays a one-two with Firmino to get in down the right flank before playing a low ball across the area. Sturridge has got the wrong side of his man, but can't get enough on the ball to turn it goalwards.

SHOTS! Augsburg have an effort of their own as Caiuby wins the ball back before finding Feulner, whose long-range effort is always swerving wide. Liverpool go straight up the other end and Sturridge curls one towards the far corner, but the keeper makes a routine stop.

Liverpool are slowly starting to look better now. Another good move involving Firmino, Coutinho and Sturridge, with the latter sliding a pass down the right for Clyne. He drives a low cross into the box, but it is cleared behind for a corner.

The resulting delivery is met by Can, but he can't keep his header down and it goes comfortably over the crossbar.

YELLOW CARD! Kohr becomes the second name in the book for a challenge from behind on Firmino.

CLOSE! Moreno floats the resulting free kick into the middle and Toure can't get anything on the ball. Instead, Caiuby gets something on the ball, only to clear it into Verhaegh. The ball bounces off the skipper and towards his own goal, but Hitz collects it on the line before it can creep over.

This has been better for Liverpool over the last 10 minutes or so, but they are still not playing with the speed and urgency that we know they can play with.

We have less than half an hour remaining in this game, and still neither side have made their move to win this game. The onus has to be on the hosts more than Liverpool, although the Reds would be disappointed if they came away with anything other than a win here.

The two Liverpool full-backs find themselves side by side in the middle of the pitch as Moreno and Clyne combine to win the ball back. Moreno tries a speculative volley on the turn from at least 25 yards out, but his effort is blocked.

LIVERPOOL SUB: Liverpool make their first change of the evening as Divock Origi replaces Sturridge.

Interesting defending from Moreno as he looks to mop up a cross at the back post. He could just knock it behind for a corner, but instead takes a risk and looks to head it back inside to Mignolet. There is a brief heart-in-mouth moment, but the keeper then collects.

SAVE! It may take something special to break the deadlock here, and Moreno almost provides it with a fierce long-range effort. It is powerful, swerving and takes a bounce just in front of Hitz, who gets enough on it to send it behind for a corner.

YELLOW CARD! Werner goes into the book late for a foul on Coutinho, with the keeper initially playing advantage as Milner whipped a good cross into the box that hit Origi and went wide.

Hitz comes a long, long way off his line to mop up a ball forward, and luckily for him he gets there too. He was a good 35-40 yards off his line there!

CHANCE! Big chance for the hosts! Milner is caught ball-watching at the back post with a cross from the right, allowing Stafylidis to nip in in front. It is a very difficult shot to control, though, and he can only shunt it towards Caiuby, who can't turn it goalwards.

YELLOW CARD! Moreno goes into the book, and it is a harsh one. It was a shoulder barge that the linesman, who was right on the spot, didn't see as a foul, but the referee overrules him and flashes a card too.

The resulting free kick is played into the box and only cleared as far as Kohr, whose bouncing long-range strike is collected by Mignolet.

AUGSBURG SUB: Change for the home side here as the former Sunderland man Ji Dong-won replaces Werner.

LIVERPOOL SUB: Liverpool also make a change, bringing Jordon Ibe in for Milner.

Good move forward from Augsburg, who work the ball from the left to the right, where they find a bit of space. The offside eventually brings an end to what had been a promising move, though.

SAVE! Shooting chance for Ibe as the ball falls to him on the right side of the area, but he fires it straight at the keeper.

OFF THE POST! Augsburg are within inches of stealing it! Caiuby climbs highest at the back post to nod a cross down in the middle, where Ji is waiting. He fires a half-volley towards the near post, but it takes a nick off Toure and hits the outside of the post.

AUGSBURG SUB: A third and final change for the home side as Koo Ja-Cheol replaces Altintop.

SHOT! Coutinho has been a little quiet here, but he looks to spark into life by cutting inside and letting fly from range, but his shot deflects behind for a corner.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this match.

YELLOW CARD! Feulner gets a late yellow card for a trip on Firmino.

It ends goalless at the WWK Arena, then, and neither side can really say they did enough to prevent it from happening any other way. The hosts just about edged the first half, while Liverpool were the better side in the second despite Augsburg hitting the post late on. Ultimately, though, it is a slight advantage to Liverpool ahead of next week's reverse at Anfield.

That is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Augsburg mark their first ever European knockout game by holding the five-time Champions of Europe Liverpool to a goalless draw. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!