Liverpool set to reach Champions League final with victory over Villarreal
Villarreal CF vs Liverpool - 03/05/2022
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Liverpool are in pole position to reach a second UEFA Champions League final in four seasons as they carry a 2-0 lead to Villarreal for the second leg of their semi-final on Tuesday.
Last week, Jurgen Klopp’s side produced a dominant performance at Anfield – racking up 74% possession and 19 shots. Meanwhile, the Spaniards failed to register a single shot on target.
An own goal from Pervis Estupinan gave Liverpool the lead early in the second half before a Sadio Mane strike put the Reds firmly in control two minutes later.
Can Liverpool punch their ticket to a tenth European Cup/Champions League final? Or will Villarreal produce one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history?
Villarreal head into the second leg on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Alaves in La Liga. Despite seeing 68% of the ball on Saturday, they failed to prevent the loss.
Not only have the Yellow Submarine lost each of their last two games in all competitions, but they have also lost four of their previous nine.
As a result, Unai Emery’s men find themselves seventh in La Liga – nine points outside the top four and a whopping 29 points behind newly-crowned champions Real Madrid.
In the Champions League, however, Villarreal have already knocked out Juventus (4-1) and Bayern Munich (2-1) to reach this stage. You would be foolish to write them off altogether.
On the flip side, Liverpool come into the second leg on the back of a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United in the Premier League – leaving them one point behind first-place Manchester City.
Not only have the Reds won each of their last five games across all competitions, but they have also avoided defeat in all of their previous 12.
When you look at the bigger picture, Klopp’s side have lost just one of their past 28 encounters in all competitions.
In the Champions League, Liverpool won all six of their group games before dispatching Inter Milan (2-1) and Benfica (6-4) to book their place in the semi-finals.
Head-to-head: Villarreal and Liverpool have faced each other on three occasions over the years. In the 2015-16 season, Villarreal beat Liverpool 1-0 before the Reds won the reverse fixture 3-0.
That means Liverpool have won two of their three meetings with Villarreal, scoring a combined total of five goals while keeping two clean sheets.
Team news: Alberto Moreno and Yeremi Pino are absent for Villarreal. Elsewhere, Arnaut Danjuma and Gerard Moreno are also injury doubts.
As for Liverpool, Roberto Firmino looks set to miss the second leg through injury. Divock Origi is also a doubt due to illness.
If the first leg of this clash is anything to go by, Liverpool should cruise to another comfortable victory on Tuesday.
Forebet predicts that Liverpool will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to dispatching Villarreal.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
UCL
193051
2
0 - 2
2.25
15°
1.70
4.75
3.90
1.70
no
no
no
2 - 3(2 - 0)
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