Liverpool vs Villarreal: All you need to Champions League second semifinal Leg 1

Liverpool has already won one silverware this season beating Chelsea on penalties in the League Cup final and will hope to get into its third Champions League final under manager Jurgen Klopp.

Published : Apr 27, 2022 08:04 IST

With the competition finally down to the final four, it will be interseting to see whether Unai Emery can carry the 'yellow submarine' to its first ever UCL final or will Klopp avenge his defeat to Emery's then side Sevilla in the Europa League final in six years ago.
With the competition finally down to the final four, it will be interseting to see whether Unai Emery can carry the 'yellow submarine' to its first ever UCL final or will Klopp avenge his defeat to Emery's then side Sevilla in the Europa League final in six years ago.
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With the competition finally down to the final four, it will be interseting to see whether Unai Emery can carry the 'yellow submarine' to its first ever UCL final or will Klopp avenge his defeat to Emery's then side Sevilla in the Europa League final in six years ago.

Liverpool will continue its pursuit for a quadruple when it takes on Villarreal in the first leg of the second UEFA Champions League on Thursday.

The Reds have already won one silverware this season beating Chelsea on penalties in the League Cup final and will hope to get into its third Champions League final under manager Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the tournament last year by Real Madrid -- a team it has a chance of facing if it goes through against the Unai Emery's Villarreal.

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Villarreal, on the other hand, beat Bayern Munich to enter its third Champions Semifinal ever, its first since 2005-06. Emery has already been immortalised at the club as he guided it to its first European trophy, the Europa League in last year.

With the competition finally down to the final four, it will be interesting to see whether Unai Emery can carry the 'yellow submarine' to its first ever UCL final or will Klopp avenge his defeat to Emery's then side Sevilla in the Europa League final in six years ago.

MCI-vs-RMA-Infographic

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Liverpool and Villarreal have come up against each other once before in the Europa League 2015-16 semifinal, wherein the Reds had come out victorious 3-1 on aggregate. This time, the Spanish side will look to avenge the loss this time around.

  • Liverpool 3-0 Villarreal
  • Villarreal 1-0 Liverpool

TEAM FORM: Villarreal is on a six-match unbeaten run while Liverpool come into the semifinal having won the Merseyside derby and is on a 10-match unbeaten run.

Liverpool's last five matches:

  • 2-0 Win vs Everton (Premier League)
  • 4-0 Win vs Manchester United (Premier League)
  • 3-2 Win vs Manchester City (FA Cup semifinal)
  • 3-3 Draw vs Benfica (Champions League quarterfinals)
  • 2-2 Draw vs Manchester City (Premier League)

 

Villarreal's last five matches:

  • 2-0 Win vs Valencia (LaLiga)
  • 2-1 Win vs Getafe (LaLiga)
  • 1-1 Draw vs Bayern Munich (Champions League quarterfinals)
  • 1-1 Draw vs Athletic Bilbao (LaLiga)
  • 1-0 Win vs Bayern Munich (Champions League quarterfinals)

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Players to look out for:

Sadio Mane, Liverpool: The Senegal International has changed his position from a winger to a striker and has adjusted like a duck to water, scoring four goals in Liverpool's last five matches. With Mohamed Salah back to the scoring charts, the pair of Mane and Salah always remains a menace for opponents.

Arnaut Danjuma, Villarreal: The Dutchman opened the scoring for Villarreal in the Champions League quarterfinals and comes into the match, scoring a double against his team's arch-rival Valencia. The former Bournemouth player has scored 16 goals in 33 appearances this season, six of which have come in the Champions League.

UCL-semi-infographic
 

What have the managers said?

Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool

Unai Emery, Villarreal

Predicted Lineups:

Liverpool Predicted XI : Alisson Becker (GK), Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson,Keita, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane

Villarreal Predicted XI : Geronimo Rulli(GK), Juan Foyth, Raul Albiol, Pau Torres, Pervis Estupinan; Dani Parejo, Etienne Capoue, Francis Coquelin, Giovani Lo Celso, Paco Alcacer, Arnaut Danjuma

When and where to watch the UEFA Champions League semifinal?

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