Dortmund to pay tribute to Hillsborough victims with '96' mosaic at Liverpool

The two clubs meet in the Europa League quarter-finals on the eve of the tragedy's 27th anniversary

Borussia Dortmund supporters put on a display during last week's first leg against Liverpool (Getty)

Borussia Dortmund fans are planning to honour the victims of the Hillsborough disaster when they visit Anfield for their Europa League quarter-final second leg against Liverpool on Thursday.

The Bundesliga club’s contingent of travelling supporters, expected to be approximately 3,000-strong in number, will hold up a yellow and black mosaic reading ‘96’ – the number of fans who lost their lives in the 1989 tragedy – prior to kick-off.

The quarter-final clash falls on the eve of the disaster’s 27^th anniversary and away supporters will also be invited to attend the annual memorial service, which will be held at Anfield on Friday afternoon, according to the Liverpool Echo.

“A choreography with paper boards [will be] prepared in the away section, to provide the number of that fatalities "96" in black on yellow,” Dortmund's official website announced.

Liverpool and Dortmund share close ties, with both using ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ as anthems and the Merseyside club’s manager Jürgen Klopp previously spent seven years in charge at Signal Iduna Park.

Last week’s first leg, which finished in a 1-1 draw, saw Klopp return to Westphalia for the first time since leaving the club at the end of the 2014/15 season and much was made of the bonds between his past and present employers.

In 2014, to mark the 25^th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, Dortmund’s supporters performed a special rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ ahead of their DFB Pokal meeting with Wolfsburg, which saw 80,000 fans pay their respects to the tragedy’s victims.

Divock Origi's away goal, which was cancelled out by Mats Hummels' header in the first leg, gives Liverpool a slender advantage going into Thursday's clash.