Champions League: Liverpool on Red Alert as Yellow Submarine Visit Anfield

Liverpool vs Villarreal

Liverpool are back in the semi-finals of the Champions League after a two-year absence and are red-hot favourites to return to the final for the third time in five years.

But the Reds must be on red alert as they host a very dangerous Villarreal side at Anfield for the first leg of their semi-final tie.

Unai Emery’s side have already delivered some major shocks in this season’s tournament as they knocked out two European heavyweights in Juventus and Bayern Munich in the previous two rounds.

However, facing this in-form Liverpool side at the fortress that is Anfield will be by far the Yellow Submarine’s toughest test to date.

Talking Points

Reds ready for Villarreal visit after toppling top rivals

Liverpool are coming off quite a memorable last week or so. The Reds faced three of their biggest rivals – Manchester City in the FA Cup, then Manchester United and Everton back-to-back in the Premier League – in the span of just eight days, and they won all three matches in rather convincing fashion.

Liverpool surprisingly had a bit of a tough time breaking down Everton in the Merseyside derby, as the Toffees delivered a valiant defensive display. But the Reds put Everton under pressure all match long – they had 82 per cent of possession and 18 total shots – and eventually got the 2-0 win.

The Everton match should serve as a good preview for what Liverpool should expect against Villarreal in the first leg at Anfield. The Reds will likely dominate possession once again at home and must find a way to break down a well-organised Villarreal defence.

Luckily, Liverpool possess plenty of weapons that can do just that. The first-choice front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Diogo Jota started against Everton and all three are likely to keep their places in midweek.

Although, Luis Diaz, who come on as a substitute and assisted on Divock Origi’s clinching second goal, made a strong case to start. The Colombian winger has already provided four goals and three assists in 13 appearances for Liverpool since he arrived from Porto.

Liverpool have not won at Anfield in their last two Champions League matches as they lost 1-0 to Inter and drew 3-3 with Benfica. Although, it should be noted that they were protecting first-leg leads in both ties.

The Reds have been simply dominant at home in the Premier League, where they have won 12 consecutive games and have conceded just two goals in that time.

Villarreal must cope without Moreno

After defying the Champions League 2022 odds in back-to-back rounds, Villarreal find themselves in the Champions League semi-finals for only the second time in their history.

Unai Emery, who failed to make it past the round of 16 with Paris Saint-Germain, is finally finding success in the Champions League as his excellent tactics brought down both Juventus and Bayern Munich.

Emery has done a magnificent job of getting his Villarreal side organised defensively and playing the devastating counterattacking style that has led to much of his success over the years.

However, Emery’s task of getting a positive result at Anfield against tournament favourites Liverpool has been made much harder by the fact that star striker Gerard Moreno will miss the match after picking up another muscle injury. Moreno was a key contributor in their quarter-final win over Bayern and will be sorely missed.

Arnaut Danjuma must now carry a major attacking burden in Moreno’s absence. But the young Dutchman has shown he can step up in the big moments. He has made plenty of Champions League 2022 highlights with six goals in the competition, including one in each round against Juve and Bayern. Danjuma also bagged a brace as Villarreal beat rivals Valencia 2-0 in the Derbi de la Comunitat.

History

This will be the second semi-final tie between Klopp’s Liverpool and Emery’s Villarreal. The two sides first met in the semis of the 2016 Europa League. Villarreal stunned Liverpool with a 1-0 first-leg win at home thanks to a stoppage-time Adrian Lopez winner. But Liverpool recovered to win 3-0 at Anfield as they moved on to the final.

Meanwhile, Villarreal also faced an English side in their first trip to the Champions League semi-finals in 2006. They lost the first leg to Arsenal 1-0 in London and were held to a scoreless draw at home after Juan Roman Riquelme infamously missed a late penalty that would have sent the tie to extra-time.

Betting Tip 

SBOTOP odds have Liverpool installed as overwhelming 1.28 favourites to beat Villarreal, who are massive 10.50 underdogs to snatch a shock victory at Anfield. A draw is 5.00.

But despite the massive odds in Liverpool’s favour, this match may not be so easy for the hosts. Unai Emery has proven once again how well he can set his side up defensively, particularly away from home. Villarreal will make things as tough as possible for Liverpool, although with Gerard Moreno out, they will not be quite as potent an attacking force.

As Liverpool showed against Everton, they can and often do eventually get the breakthrough. But they will once again have to work for the win in what is likely to be a low-scoring first leg.

 

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