Champions League: Can the Yellow Submarine Stay Afloat?

Villarreal vs Bayern Munich

Unai Emery’s Villarreal welcomes FC Bayern to the Estadio de la Ceramica on Wednesday for a Champions League quarter final clash to set the pulses racing.

Julian Nagelsmann’s team are dominant in the German Bundesliga and one of the favourites to lift Europe’s flagship trophy, according to the latest Champions League 2022 betting odds. But the Yellow Submarine will take some sinking, particularly in the home leg and the Spaniards will hope the tie is alive and kicking when they head to Munich in a week’s time.   

Villarreal had a bad day at the office on Saturday, losing to struggling Levante 2-0, so Emery will be looking for a response against much fiercer opponents who arrive on the back of a 4-1 victory over Freiburg. 

At odds of 4.00 to win the tournament Die Bayern are one of the four teams which expect to make the semi-finals but they won’t take Villarreal lightly.

Talking Points

Emery vs Nagelsmann

One of the most fascinating match-ups in this tussle will be on the touchline, where the master tactician Emery will take on the ground-breaking Nagelsmann. Emery is a Europa League specialist, having won the competition three times on the bounce with Sevilla and once, last season, with Villarreal when they beat Manchester United on penalties. In the interim he also came close with Arsenal, finishing as runners up in 2019. Emery has the ability to find weaknesses in his opponents, and has guided his team to nine home games without a loss and draws with top quality sides, Real Madrid, Juventus and Atletico Madrid. 

Of all the Champions League 2022 results to date, Villarreal’s 3-0 win away to Juventus in the Round of 16 was one of the biggest surprises; and it was a master-class in the art of smash and grab. In a first half dominated by I Bianconeri, keeper Geronimo Rulli kept Villarreal in the game with a string of fine saves, but they held out and when Gerard Moreno converted a 78^th minute penalty the Juve heads dropped and the Spaniards’ exploited their weakness.   

The young German coach Nagelsmann is full of ideas and he’s building a team in the same image, pushing the boundaries, full of pace and with flowing passing moves they have the ability to carve open any defence at will. And with the counter-attacking ability of the team to tee up goals for Robert Lewandowski it can give opposing defences nightmares. The 2021/22 Bundesliga is almost in the bag as Bayern lead Borussia Dortmund by nine points, but there was some controversy during Bayern’s victory over Freiburg, as they had 12 players on the pitch for around 20 seconds after Kingsley Coman didn’t leave the pitch immediately when he was hooked. Nagelsmann’s a brilliant manager but he can’t have planned that!     

Lewandowski vs Torres

With 12 goals already at a rate of 1.5 per game Lewandowski is in the lead for the Golden Boot and he will take some stopping. Second placed Sebastian Haller is out of action following the exit of Ajax, so Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, with eight, is the only real threat. Lewandowski scored three goals and made one assist in Bayern’s Round of 16 destruction of Salzburg and, with an eye on this tie, he was substituted on the hour in the win over Freiburg. 

Alongside Leroy Sane, who has six goals and six assists, Lewandowski is a terror in the penalty area. And that is the challenge facing Villarreal centre back Pau Torres. He’s becoming one of the most respected defenders in La Liga, commanding at 6ft 3in (1.91m) tall and has a superb reading of the game, able to break up play and launch attacks. With 17 international caps and three seasons under his belt at Villarreal, the 25 year old is coming into his prime, and alongside Raul Albiol he forms a superb centre back partnership.     

History

The two teams previously met in Group A of the 2011/12 Champions League when Bayern won both ties, 2-0 at the Estadio de la Ceramica and 3-1 in Munich. And there are three survivors from that game who may make an appearance on Wednesday; Bayern’s Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller and Villarreal skipper Mario Gaspar.   

Villarreal’s recent form has been patchy, with three wins and three defeats from the last six games, while Die Bayern have won four and drawn two.

Bayern are unbeaten in eight away from home while Villarreal are unbeaten in nine games at home, last losing in November to Barcelona.   

Betting Tip

The German giants are at 1.10 to navigate this test with the Yellow Submarine at a SBOTOP price of 5.16, but if the hosts can live with the Bavarians on home turf then Juventus can warn Bayern what may be around the corner! It’s a long shot and, at 1.56 to win, the Bavarians are highly fancied to take hold of this tie in the first leg, while Villarreal are 4.84 to win or 4.07 to draw. Villarreal striker Paco Alcacer is back from injury, he played 15 minutes against Levante, and that’s a timely boost which might just help the Yellow Submarine to stay afloat.

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.