Already halfway into the final of the 2021-22 Champions League, Liverpool aim to complete the job against Villarreal in the second leg of their semi-final tie at La Ceramica on Tuesday.
Villarreal were overwhelmed for the entirety of the 90 minutes during the first leg at Anfield, and even though Villarreal got to half time wih their clean sheet still intact, Liverpool found their way through twice in quick succession in the second half.
The Champions League hangover appeared to be in full effect for the Yellow Submarine as they lost 2-1 to Alaves in Saturday’s La Liga clash, and they are now welcoming Liverpool to a ground where Juventus and Bayern Munich both failed to succeed.
Villarreal have not fallen to a defeat in front of their own supporters since November last year, but have failed to register a single shot on target in the first leg.
With less than a month to go before the close of the 2021-22 season, the quadruple dream is still a realistic possibility for Liverpool, who breifly returned to the top of the table in the Premier League by defeating Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon.
Despite reportedly seeing a request to move the game rejected by the Premier League, Klopp’s side responded through Naby Keita’s goal of the contest at St James’ Park before Manchester City returned to the summit through a victory over Leeds United.
Victory over Newcastle was Liverpool’s fifth on the bounce across all competitions, their last four of which have come with a clean sheet, and they have not lost on the road in any competition since going down to Leicester City in December.
While their domestic title destiny remains out of their own hands, Liverpool are just 90 minutes away from making their 10th appearance in the final of the Champions League.
Villarreal vs Liverpool head to head
The two teams have previously met on only three occasions in the Europa League and Champions League, where Liverpool have claimed two victories while Villarreal have won once. Liverpool have scored five goals and conceded one. Liverpool won 2-0 at home in their last meeting in the Champions League.
Villarreal 1-0 Liverpool 28/04/16
Liverpool 3-0 Villarreal 05/05/16
Liverpool 2-0 Villarreal 27/04/21
Villarreal latest home form
Villarreal have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their 12 most recent matches.In their last home game, they managed to defeat Valencia 2-0 in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded just two.
Villarreal 5-1 Espanyol 27/02/22
Villarreal 1-0 Celta Vigo 12/03/22
Villarreal 1-0 Bayern Munich 06/04/22
Villarreal 1-1 Athletic Bilbao 09/04/22
Villarreal 2-0 Valencia 19/04/22
Villarreal latest away form
Villarreal have recently been on a poor run of form on the road, as they have lost each of their two most recent matches. They lost 2-0 to Liverpool on April 27 in the Champions League. In their last five away matches, they have scored four goals and conceded eight.
Levante 2-0 Villarreal 02/04/22
Bayern Munich 1-1 Villarreal 12/04/22
Getafe 1-2 Villarreal 16/04/22
Liverpool 2-0 Villarreal 27/04/22
Alaves 2-1 Villarreal 30/04/22
Liverpool latest home form
Liverpool have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their five most recent matches. In their last home game, they defeated Villarreal 2-0 in the Champions League on April 27. In their last five matches, they have scored 13 goals and conceded three.
Liverpool 2-0 Watford 02/04/22
Liverpool 3-3 Benfica 13/04/22
Liverpool 4-0 Manchester United 19/04/22
Liverpool 2-0 Everton 24/04/22
Liverpool 2-0 Villarreal 27/04/22
Liverpool latest away form
Liverpool have been on a good run of form on the road, and have not lost in any of their 13 away matches of 2022. In their last away game, they defeated Newcastle United 1-0 in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded five.
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Liverpool 20/03/22
Benfica 1-3 Liverpool 05/04/22
Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool 10/04/22
Manchester City 2-3 Liverpool 16/04/22
Newcastle United 0-1 Liverpool 30/04/22
Villarreal news
Yeremi Pino and Alberto Moreno still remain absent, while Arnaut Danjuma was ruled out of the Alaves defeat at the last minute due to discomfort.
Raul Albiol and Francis Coquelin will hope to be fine for the second leg, but Gerard Moreno is still a major doubt due to his hamstring problem.
Liverpool news
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas and Curtis Jones both returned from illness to make the bench for the win over Newcastle, but Divock Origi was absent after picking up a bug.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho are among those who will return to the first XI this week.
Prediction and Odds
Playing on the Ceramica turf has been a difficult proposition for a number of sides in recent months, but have been hit with injuries to the forward line at the worst possible time.
That said, we believe that Liverpool will have the quality to break through and take another win in this tie.
Odds: 1 2.30 X 2.05 2 2.20
Probable outcomes
Villarreal 0-1 Liverpool
Villarreal 0-2 Liverpool
Villarreal 1-2 Liverpool
Villarreal 1-3 Liverpool
Villarreal 2-3 Liverpool
