Liverpool will travel to Spain this Tuesday to face Villarreal in the second leg of their 2021/22 UEFA Champions League semi-final tie.
Venue: Estadio de la Ceramica (Villarreal)
Key Statistics
Villarreal have an undefeated record in home UCL knockout matches (two wins and five draws).
They are unbeaten at home across all competitions since December (eight wins and four draws).
Unai Emery’s six previous encounters against Liverpool has produced 28 goals (W1, D1, L4), with both teams finding the net in five of those games.
Liverpool have won their last four games without conceding any goal.
Excluding neutral grounds, Liverpool have scored 2+ goals in eight of their 11 away matches in 2022.
They have won all five of their UCL away matches this season.
Head to head
In three meetings between both sides, Liverpool have two wins while Villarreal have one win.
Latest performances in all competitions
Villarreal: L-L-W-W-D
Liverpool: W-W-W-W-W
Villarreal
Villareal will look to become the first team since Liverpool in 2019 to overturn a 2+ goal deficit in the Champions League semi-final when they host Jurgen Klopp’s men on Tuesday.
The Yellow Submarines were beaten 2-0 in the first leg of this tie after holding on for much of the first half at Anfield. Having defeated both Bayern Munich and Juventus, they need a miracle to overcome this rampant Liverpool side.
But to do so, they must better their recent performances as they come into this fixture on the back of a 2-1 loss to lowly Alaves in the Spanish La Liga.
They have lost to English opposition at the semi-final stage of a European competition in three of their last four encounters and look likely to do so again this time.
But if their home form is anything to go by, cannot be ruled out completely. Unai Emery’s side holds an undefeated record in home UCL knockout matches (W2, D5) and are also unbeaten at home in their last 12 games across all competitions.
Possible Villarreal starting line-up
Geronimo Rulli, Mario Gaspar, Raul Albiol, Pau Torres, Pervis Estupinan, Giovani Lo Celso, Etienne Capoue, Dani Parejo, Francis Coquelin, Gerard Moreno, Samuel Chukwueze.
Injured: Alberto Moreno and Yeremi Pino
Doubtful: Raul Albiol, Francis Coquelin, Arnaut Danjuma, Gerard Moreno
Suspended: None
Liverpool
Liverpool will look to finish the job they began at Anfield last week when they travel to Spain on Tuesday.
The Reds gave themselves a first-leg advantage when they defeated the Yellow Submarines courtesy of an own goal by Pervis Estupinan and another strike by Sadio Mane.
They are looking to advance to the final of Europe’s elite club competition for the tenth time, potentially extending their record for the most finals made by an English club to ten.
Given their recent form, they can be fully backed to achieve that. Jurgen Klopp’s men come into this tie on the back of a hard-fought 1-0 win over Newcastle.
The win extended their winning run in all competitions to five games and also extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 games. They have won all of their away games in the UCL this season and will fancy their chances of winning this game too.
Possible Liverpool starting line-up
Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho; Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Sadio Mane.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Divock Origi, Roberto Firmino
Suspended: None
Prediction
Villarreal 0-3 Liverpool
