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DortmundWhatever transpires in the Europa League this season the Dortmund quarter final will always be close to our hearts. The sound of Lovren’s header hitting the back of the net still plays on repeat. Still too fresh. Steeped in emotion with a romantic backdrop only football could serve up it was simply a remarkable game of football. One of those 'I witnessed that' watershed moments that is now stored in our aficionado memory bank. Anfield was shimmering on a night full of drama. The unlikeliest of comebacks that only Liverpool could pull out, and ultimately the bedlam that ensued. There was a force field that is difficult to explain about that game. Boxed snapshots that are filed away with Istanbul, St. Etienne, Olympiakos, Chelsea and any one of those special European occasions. A time-travel ticket that is valid for life, that one will always stay with us.
Of course, there is unfinished business here. As Dejan Lovren so aptly pointed out at the tail end of his post-match interview "it's not over yet". Just as the Istanbul miracle was befitting of winning the whole thing, Dortmund was emphatic enough to believe that this journey shouldn't end here. After recovering from the euphoria of such an emotional quarter final you can almost smell the trophy now as we look forward to yet another European Semi Final. And so we move on from Die Schwarzgelben to El Submarino Amarillo. From the yellow wall to the yellow submarine. The initial reaction to drawing Villarreal was meant with some caution yet great hope. Dortmund were favourites for the competition and by sending them crashing back down to earth we felt bullish about our chances. But then Villarreal are a different kettle of fish.
HistoryVillarreal and Liverpool have never met in a competitive match before. There is no managerial sub-plot here, or emotional bond between 2 sets of fans. Villa-real is a small town situated in the province of Castello, close to their rivals Valencia. In 2007-08, they finished 2nd in La Liga and consequently qualified for the CL the following year. They met both Manchester United and Arsenal in that campaign, the former in the group stage where they drew 0-0 at Old Trafford, and then losing to the latter in the quarter finals. Things took a bit of a downturn in 2011-12 when they finished 18th and were relegated to the Segunda División. This saw a mass exodus of players from the club including Borja Valero and Diego Lopez. They were promoted the very next season, and have never finished below 6th ever since. In recent years Atlético Madrid have proved they can force themselves into the equation in a league dominated by two heavyweights. Although the mastery of Diego Simeone has proved pivotal in them joining that crowd. Villarreal have emerged from the next batch of front runners somewhat resembling an Atlético-lite in the way they go about their business.
Villareal style of play
Villarreal’s manager, Marcelino, employs a classic 4-4-2 system. Their main potency is to launch lightning quick counter attacks. They rely on a powerful midfield led by Bruno Soriano. His recent stellar play has led to call ups to the Spanish National team. He follows an esteemed list of midfielders that once played for Villarreal; Marcos Senna, Santi Cazorla and Joan Roman Riquelm. As a 4 in the middle the midfield work extremely hard for each other, with their engine being Bruno. We’ll need a strong presence in midfield to stop him controlling the play. They are loosely reminiscent of Liverpool in that they attempt to win the ball back quickly and support in numbers when they lose possession. Both wide midfielders like to cut in rather than get to the byline. This should be music to the ears of a team who struggles with crosses into the box. As a team they don't have the technical skill of Dortmund and aren't as lethal but they probably work harder for each other than Dortmund do. The success of the team is reliant on heavy work ethic. They usually start with a quick tempo trying to get an early lead and then let their organized defence protect that lead. Despite their impressive position on the league table Villarreal do not show up in the top 5 for possession, shots per game, pass accuracy or aerial duels won. In fact, they aren't in the top 5 for aggression either, which means they are quite well disciplined.
Danger manCedric Bakambu was plucked from near obscurity in Turkey last season to join Villarreal's ranks in the summer. He has fit their attack like the missing sharpshooter from an Olympic archery team. He is their most dangerous weapon, and a 1 in 2 striker in La Liga. 22 goals in 43 appearances this season, which is quite a lot to write home about. Although, not yet the toast of La Liga he has quietly been a big contributing factor to where Villareal sit this season. He's also struck up a pretty decent partnership with Roberto Soldado. Remember him? The flop at Spurs, who has also made himself at home here. Take Bakambu him out of the lineup and they would likely be a mid table team. He has a penchant for scoring early in games too. He's scored in the 3rd, 4th and 5th minute of different games this season so he's going to test us early. Stop him and you go a long way to stopping them getting on the scoresheet.
The defenceVillarreal don't score a bucket load of goals, 8 other teams in La Liga have more goals than them, and 3 others have the same tally. They do however boast a pretty mean defensive record; the 4th best in La Liga. Much of this is down to the efforts of Eric Bailley. If you ever pay attention the FIFA 16 Team of the week (real players), you'll know him well. The Ivorian has attracted the attention of many top clubs in Europe including Manchester City. He has become Victor Ruiz' partner in central defence and together they form the bedrock of a strong defensive core. Bailley's stock has continuously risen throughout the season. However, he is prone to the odd moments of waywardness and rash yellow cards. He can be targeted and no doubt Klopp be looking to target him.
Who will Liverpool miss?Liverpool are hurting. Three games in recent weeks have yielded 3 good results but at a heavy cost. Each with the shine taken off them with injuries to 3 first team players. When Emre Can was ruled out for 4-6 weeks it felt like you'd driven through a treacherous canyon, come out and discovered you have a wheel missing. Liverpool's heartbeat in midfield will be a massive loss. It's a testament to his development this season he’s the first name on Klopp’s team sheet. Hopefully, if we get to the final he’ll be in the 11. Divock Origi, the hero of the first leg against Dortmund, will be absent too. That will be another big loss because he is fast becoming the quintessential striker in a Klopp system. It's such a shame that he got injured when he did because he would likely have led the line here again. The Captain’s injury could have been bearable had Can been around and now we're precariously thin in midfield. Sakho will be huge miss. Leadership qualities and a rallying the troops call are much needed in semi finals. Toure or Lucas should be able to fill in.
The match
Villarreal will pose a difficult test for us. They are no mugs when it comes to playing top teams; wins against Real and Atlético and a draw against Barcelona show they are up for the fight when it matters. However, we can buoyed by our recent form (bar Newcastle) and have enough weapons to cause them problems. They don't often possess high amounts of possession so we should see quite a fair bit of the ball. They do control games in midfield so that could prove to be a pivotal area of the pitch. The key will be working harder than them, because they fight for each other and we need to counter that by covering every blade of grass. If we do that we will go a long way to winning the battle. Form wise Villareal have lost their last 2 games so confidence might low. An away goal would be encouraging, but as we saw against Dortmund it isn't always a huge factor. The away goal was wiped out within 4 minutes at Anfield the last time out. As always you want to get back to Anfield with a realistic shot of progressing. On paper there doesn't appear to a huge gulf between the two teams, therefore this game will likely be decided on who takes their chances on the day. With Coutinho and Sturridge in scintillating form I expect our usual number of quality chances created. Both are key players for me and generally when they play well Liverpool play well. It's all about the Europa League now. The league games are just about pride; anything there is gravy at this point. This is our biggest game of the season, and it will be interesting to see how Klopp sets up and how we perform. It should be a fascinating game and I fancy us to score on the night, and have a sneaking suspicion we may surprise them with an away win. Buckle up for another great European adventure.
The yellow submarine, is their nickname incase you were wondering.
