UEFA Champions League – Liverpool vs Villarreal: Match Preview

0
Liverpool vs Villarreal

Source: reuters.com, dreamstime.com, .thisisanfield.com, frontofficesports.com

Liverpool will march towards their plan of Quadruple, as they now face Villarreal in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal.

After defeating Man City, Man United, and Everton this month so far, three of the Reds’ biggest rivals. Klopp’s men now face Villarreal in the final four of the Champions League at Anfield.

El Submarino Amarillo will be eyeing another Champions League upset as they travel to the fortress Anfield.

Liverpool vs Villarreal: Match Preview

Jurgen Klopp pre-match press conference: UCL – Liverpool vs Villarreal

Villarreal manager Unai Emery will travel back to Anfield for the first time since leaving Arsenal. Emery the “Mr Good Ebening” is familiar with how terrorizing the place is for the away teams.

Nevertheless, Welcome back, Unai Emery.

Liverpool are currently on a hectic month of April, which is so far going well. The Reds have produced some tremendous performances recently and also seen out ugly games with 100 percent results. Since the start of the month, Liverpool have at least scored 2 goals so far.

What a season it is turning out to be. Never before have Liverpool taken part in the semi-finals of the Champions League, FA Cup, and EFL Cup in one season.

Surely on course for the unprecedented “Quadruple” having already bagged the EFL Cup and made it into the FA Cup final.

Moreover, in the league, it’s quite tense as Liverpool just sitting a point behind Man City in the league standings.

Brimming with confidence after a 2-0 Merseyside derby triumph over Everton at the weekend. Now, Anfield hosts the surprise package of this season’s Champions League season Villarreal.

Even though in previous home leg games at Anfield, Liverpool haven’t won it but neither result had any effect on the aggregate scoreline. Klopp’s side have settled scores in the away legs.

That should worry the travelling Villarreal side.

On the other hand, the Yellow Submarine are the ones being sunk by two European heavyweights in the previous rounds. Juventus and most recently Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, both were knocked out by Unai Emery’s master plan.

It’s the first-ever Champions League semi-finals for the Spaniard as a manager. Villarreal have been the story of this season’s competition and both manager and the squad will demand plenty of respect before getting into the English turf.

Team News

The home side remains is in good spirit and in good shape. But forward Roberto Firmino remains the only doubt for the tie with a foot injury, which kept him out in the weekend against Everton.

Center-back Ibrahima Konate should be back in the starting eleven. The Frenchman is high in confidence having found the back of the net on both legs against Benfica.

Both captain Jordan Henderson and Luis Diaz expect to be in the starting birth, after finding themselves on the bench at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Mo Salah will be eyeing setting a new record. The Egyptian so far has scored 33 Champions League goals and now needs four to surpass Sergio Aguero and Didier Drogba’s 36.

Liverpool’s possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Diaz

Liverpool vs Villarreal: Anfield Home Prediction

Unai Emery’s Villarreal will not be an easy opponent for sure, particularly after they beat Juventus and Bayern Munich. But the game looks to be one in which Klopp’s team will be strong favorites.

Gerard Moreno who is set to miss out on the Anfield trip is sure a big miss for the away side. Moreover, Liverpool’s strength and depth should be enough to break Villarreal’s resistance.

Liverpool looks very likely to prevail over Villarreal with a 2-0 win.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *