Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel have had remarkably similar careers, to the point they have almost become entwined.
Neither was a superstar player and both started their managerial careers with spells at Mainz and then Borussia Dortmund.
They are among a select group of 11 men who have steered at least two different clubs to the final of the European Cup/Champions League, and the list of German managers in the Premier League is an even shorter one.
Tuchel has managed against Klopp on 17 previous occasions, the most times he has faced any manager, while the Liverpool boss has only had more tussles with Pep Guardiola (22), Dieter Hecking (21) and Thomas Schaaf (19).
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They will now square off for the first major trophy of the 2021/22 season when the Reds take on Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
On the face of it, Klopp should be supremely confident, buoyed by his record of nine wins and only three defeats against Tuchel.
However, their first 10 meetings occurred when they were at Dortmund and Mainz respectively, so it was little surprise that Klopp won seven of them.
Since he has worked in England there have been two wins apiece and three draws, so little to separate them. Here’s a closer look at their clashes from the last six years...
Liverpool vs Borussia Dortmund, 2015/16 Europa League quarter-final
When Liverpool drew 1-1 in Germany in the first leg, thanks to a goal from Divock Origi, nobody could have anticipated what was set to unfold in the return match.
When Tuchel’s side led 3-1 after 57 minutes, the Reds wouldn’t have been given much hope of scoring the three goals they needed to advance to the semi-finals.
But thanks to Philippe Coutinho, Mamadou Sakho and a 91st-minute Kop-end header from Dejan Lovren, Liverpool won 4-3 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.
Manchester United may have been beaten in the previous round but this felt like Klopp’s first legendary European night at Anfield.
Liverpool vs Paris Saint-Germain, 2018/19 Champions League group stage
Liverpool’s journey to becoming champions of Europe for a sixth time began with a home match against Tuchel’s Paris Saint-Germain.
The Reds led 2-0 thanks to goals from Daniel Sturridge and a James Milner penalty but Thomas Meunier got one back shortly before half-time and Kylian Mbappe equalised with seven minutes to go.
Step forward, Roberto Firmino. Having recently injured his eye in a victory at Tottenham, he celebrated his 92nd-minute winner against the Parisians by covering it as he celebrated.
The return match in Paris looked to be following a similar pattern, with the home side going two goals up before the Reds scored (with another Milner spot-kick) on the stroke of half-time.
That was the end of the goalscoring in that game, though. Both teams advanced to the knock-out phase, but PSG’s run immediately ended with a surprise exit to Manchester United (which put Ole Gunnar Solskjaer firmly at the wheel).
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Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea, March 2021
The first Premier League meeting of Klopp and Tuchel took place behind closed doors with the spoils going to Chelsea.
With 11 league games remaining, the win took the Blues four points clear of seventh-placed Liverpool, yet it would be the Reds who finished the higher of the two when 2020/21 reached its conclusion.
The match itself was the fifth of what would become a record six straight home league defeats for Klopp’s men, and while it only ended 1-0, they barely laid a glove on Chelsea.
Per FiveThirtyEight, Liverpool generated just 0.28 expected goals, their third worst total seen in the 130 home games held in their database.
But while Klopp wouldn’t use it as an excuse, this was around the peak of the club’s injury crisis, with six centre-backs unavailable.
Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, August 2021
Match three of the 2021/22 Premier League season was billed as a crucial face-off between title challengers, though things have not worked out that way for Chelsea since then.
They took the lead though, thanks to a headed goal from Kai Havertz.
That was only the beginning of the drama, with Reece James sent off for handball shortly before half-time and Mohamed Salah equalising from the penalty spot.
It was largely one-way traffic after the interval but the visitors defended superbly and largely restricted the Reds to speculative efforts and headers.
Chelsea 2-2 Liverpool, January 2022
The most recent meeting between Klopp and Tuchel was once again mostly about what occurred in the opening 45 minutes.
Liverpool opened up a 2-0 lead through Sadio Mane and Salah, only for Chelsea to draw level thanks to Mateo Kovacic – with the BBC’s goal of the month – and Christian Pulisic.
Neither side created much of note after the break and the points were shared once again.
It meant that there has been no second-half goals in the last four matches between the teams of Tuchel and Klopp, and none of their seven clashes during the latter’s time with the Reds have been settled by more than a single goal.
Get set for another tight and tense cup final on Sunday.
