Villarreal – Liverpool

Villarreal will try to bounce back, leading to an exchange of goals between rivals

A week ago, the semi-final stage of the Champions League, which turned into an Anglo-Spanish clash, gave the Premier League representatives two wins. But while Manchester City v Real Madrid are expected to play with maximum intrigue, as the Benzema-led club could well be one goal away from reaching the final, Villarreal are hoping for a major football miracle. Only one team at this stage of the Champions League has been beaten by two or more goals in the return leg. That was Liverpool, who swatted Barcelona at Anfield in the 2018/2019 season. Villarreal should not be written off either because of their confident play at home. Emery's side have not lost a match at home since November last year. That 12-match winning streak included visits to the Estadio de la Seramica from Bayern, Atlético de Madrid, Juventus and Real Madrid. At the very least, the home side will definitely not be afraid of their opponent and will focus on achieving their goal. In the first leg, Villarreal successfully defended against the Merseyside attackers throughout the first half, but the second leg saw an unfortunate incident with an own-goal and a dagger pass from Salah and Mane. The submarine did not even try to regroup in that match, lest it lead to even more unfortunate consequences, so they did not go on the attack even after the conceded goals and did not hit the Reds' goal line even once. Liverpool have won all five of their away games in the current Champions League, so playing in uncomfortable conditions will not embarrass this team. The mood in Liverpool's red side is more than upbeat at the moment, as Jurgen Klopp extends his contract with the club and "drags" his team to a historic win in four tournaments in a season. After their first Champions League semi-final, the Merseyside side picked up a hard-fought victory at Newcastle, continuing their pursuit of Manchester City in the Championship. Obviously, this situation will oblige Villarreal to be bolder and more aggressive in attack - two goals won't do themselves justice. This will probably lead to their local successes in the form of scoring in the course of the match, but it will also "unleash" Liverpool's legs. The opponents are likely to exchange goals.