Villarreal is the biggest surprise in this Champions League season as the Spaniards made it to the semifinals going past the six-time champions Bayern Munich. Now, they are hosting another giant and will have to face a two-goal deficit from the first leg in Liverpool.
Villarreal
After winning the Europa League last season, Villarreal has made another historic success making it all the way to the UEFA Champions League semifinals. They have already shocked the football world by going past Bayern Munich after scoring a late equalizer in the second leg at the Allianz Arena.
Previously, Villarreal finished second in Group F of the competition with 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses to advance to the elimination phase. In the Round of 16, they stunned Juventus winning 3-0 on the road after a 1-1 home draw.
Villarreal has won 2 of the last 5 games in all competition with 2 draws and the first leg loss to Liverpool.
In La Liga, Villarreal is currently in seventh place which is below the spots that will take them to any international competition for the next season. They have 14 wins, 10 draws and 9 losses so far in the domestic competition.
At home, Villarreal has not lost in the last 12 games in all competitions with 7 wins and 5 draws. The last time they lost at Estadio de la Ceramica was in November last year, 3-1 against Barcelona. Prior to that, they lost 1-0 at home against Manchester United in the group stage of the elite European competition.
Liverpool
Liverpool is having a great season both in the Champions League and in the domestic competitions. They are one step away from reaching the Champions League final and are one point behind Manchester City with five games to go in the Premier League.
Liverpool have a dominant season in the Champions League as they won all six games in the Group stage against Atletico Madrid, Porto and Milan. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Benfica 3-1 on the road and then played 3-3 on Anfield to advance to the semifinals. Previously they eliminated Inter as both teams won on the road but the Reds did that with a larger differential.
In the first leg, Liverpool proved that they are a much better team than Villarreal and are heading to Spain with two goals advantage.
In the Premier League, the Reds are second with 24 wins, 7 draws and 2 losses which give them 79 points. They are playing Newcastle on Sunday hoping to keep their chances for another domestic title.
Liverpool has not lost in the last 11 games since Inter defeated them in the rematch of the Round 16 of the Champions League which didn’t make any difference.
Our tip for the Villarreal vs. Liverpool game
Villarreal already made history with their semifinal appearance but will definitely try to go one step forward. It will be very difficult to achieve that as they have lost the first leg of the semifinal match against Liverpool, 2-0.
The Spaniards were pretty good in that game but the Reds are a class of their own and managed to score two second half goals which probably make all the difference in this matchup.
Villarreal has proved that they can go against the best teams on the continent after defeating Bayern Munich in the previous Champions League round. Still, coming back from a two-goal deficit against Liverpool seems like a mission impossible but Villarreal has beaten the odds already and they have nothing to lose in the game on Tuesday.
Liverpool is in a great situation to advance to the final match and at the moment they are probably more focused on keeping the pace with Manchester City in the Premier League. They do not have to win against Villarreal in the second leg and will certainly try to keep the ball in their possession for most of the game and try to score in transition.