Prediction: Liverpool vs Villarreal

Verdict: Total goals under 2.5

Best odds: 13/10

Bookmaker: Unibet

Liverpool are set to host Villarreal at Anfield on Wednesday evening in the first leg of their encounter in the semifinals of the Champions League this season.

Liverpool

It has been an incredible month for Jurgen Klopp’s men, one in which they managed to beat all three of their most fierce domestic rivals; all in the last 10 days.

Having flown past the group stages in the Champions League, where they dealt with Atletico Madrid, FC Porto and AC Milan, Liverpool beat Inter Milan in the round of 16 before knocking Benfica out in the quarterfinals. They’ve also reached the FA Cup final and are just one point behind defending Premier League champions Manchester City, with five matches left to play for both sides.

On top of all that, they’ve already won the Carabao Cup, which basically means they have a chance  – and a decent one too – of doing what no English team has ever done – winning all four trophies on offer. Their football maybe isn’t as high-flying as it could be lately, but they’ve shown extreme levels of consistency.

The last six matches Liverpool have played were a 1-3 win away to Benfica, a 2-2 draw away to Manchester City in the Premier League, a 3-3 draw at home against Benfica in the second leg, a 3-2 win in the FA Cup semifinal over Manchester City at Wembley, a 4-0 thrashing of Manchester United at home, and a Merseyside Derby win over Everton at Anfield by 2-0 on Sunday.

Team News

One of the reasons which surely bears an impact on Liverpool’s recent results is an unusual absence of injury problems for this stage of the season. Klopp has the full squad at his disposal, and as he admitted himself, it sounds ridiculous to have some of his players left out of matchday involvement completely, but that’s the reality of the competition for places in his team at the moment.

Roberto Firmino has struggled with a foot injury recently, but the Brazilian is expected in the squad now.

Klopp has been forced to rotate his players due to the severe density of their fixture schedule, and apart from Alisson Becker in goal, Virgil van Dijk in the heart of defence, Fabinho as the shield ahead of the back line, and Mohamed Salah on the right attacking flank, it’s not easy to guess which seven players will be selected alongside these four.

Villarreal

The shock of the season in the Champions League so far, Villarreal surely won’t be going to face Liverpool purely for the fun of it. It may be that most people consider them as the underdogs here, but they will only see that as added motivation and pressure relieved from their shoulders.

Having finished second to Manchester United in Group F, ahead of Atalanta and Young Boys, the Yellow Submarine went on push out Juventus in the round of 16, before disposing of Bayern Munich as well in the quarterfinals. Those successes will certainly have boosted their confidence ahead of facing Liverpool.

Over in Spain, Unai Emery’s side are currently in seventh place with 52 points from 33 matches. A nine-point gap separates them from Atletico Madrid in fourth, which means they’re unlikely to make the Champions League again next term unless they go on to win it now. A place in the Europa League, of which they are still the holders, would be a fine achievement from this perspective.

Even though their last-six run begins with an underwhelming 2-0 defeat away to Levante, Villarreal’s recent form has been excellent. They managed to beat Bayern at home by 1-0, to draw 1-1 at home against Athletic Bilbao, to get the same scoreline against Bayern in Germany, to beat Getafe 1-2 away and Valencia 2-0 at home.

Team News

Left-back Alberto Moreno won’t be able to visit the place where he spent five years and won the 2019 Champions League – he’s currently recovering from an ACL injury, and he obviously won’t be back for the second leg either. However, a bigger blow to Emery’s team will arguably the absence of striker Gerard Moreno (hamstring).

Arnaut Danjuma will surely start against the club he’s been linked with recently, with Samuel Chukwueze, Yeremi Pino and Manu Trigueros all hoping to play alongside him.

Conclusion

With this being the first leg, Villarreal will likely try to contain the hosts as much as possible in order to keep an active result and stay in the fixture. Liverpool will, on the other hand, make that hard for them and won’t be happy anything but a win.

Expect a tough match which Liverpool will win by a narrow margin.

Verdict: Total goals under 2.5

Best odds: 13/10

Bookmaker: Unibet