Match details:

UEFA Champions League, 2021-22
Villarreal vs Liverpool
Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal
Date. May 04, 2022
Kick-off: 12:30 am IST

Preview:

Villarreal will Liverpool in the semifinal round second leg game of the UEFA Champions League at Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal in Spain. In the last semifinal first leg encounter of the Champions League, Villarreal faced an embarrassing 2-0 defeat against Liverpool. They also faced a 2-1 defeat against Deportivo Alaves in the last encounter of the La Liga. On the other hand, Liverpool too lost 1-0 against Newcastle United in their last Premier League encounter.

After examining the recent form and statistics of these two sides, away side Liverpool are the clear favourites to secure a win in the encounter but we can expect goals from both ends of the pitch.

Head to Head record:

Villarreal: 1
Liverpool: 2
Draw: 0

Suspension, Not available & Injured:

Villarreal

Alberto Moreno (Injured), Gerard Moreno (Doubtful), Yeremy Pino (Doubtful)

Liverpool

Roberto Firmino (Doubtful)

Probable starting line-up:

Villarreal (4-4-2)

Geronimo Rulli, Juan Foyth, Raul Albiol, Pau Torres, Pervis Estupinan, Giovani Lo Celso, Etienne Capoue, Daniel Parejo, Francis Coquelin, Samuel Chukwueze, Boulaye Dia

Liverpool (4-3-3)

Alisson, Andrew Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Luis Diaz, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah

Top picks:

Mohamed Salah: Liverpools attacking forward has scored 8 goals and claimed an assist in the Champions League this season. He has also scored 22 goals and 13 assists in the Premier League this season. Salah has an average of 2.9 shots per game on goal with a successful passing percentage of 82. He is a clear choice for captaincy in your small league fantasy teams.

Sadio Mane: Liverpools attacking forward has scored 4 goals in the Champions League this season. He has also managed to score 14 goals and 2 assists in the Premier League this season. Mane has an average of 1.5 shots per game on goal with a successful passing percentage of 80. He is a differential pick for captaincy in this encounter.

Etienne Capoue: Villarreals midfielder has scored 2 goals along with 2 assists in the Champions League this season. He has also managed to score a goal and provided an assist in the LaLiga this season. He has an average of 0.8 shots per game on goal with a successful passing percentage of 89. Capoue is a must-have pick in your small league fantasy teams.

Samuel Chukwueze: Villarreals midfielder has scored 2 goals in the Champions League this season. He has also managed to score 3 goals and provided 3 assists in the La Liga this season. He has an average of 0.4 shots per game on goal with a successful passing percentage of 76. Chukwueze is a must-have pick in your small league fantasy teams.

Choices for captain and vice-captain:

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Etienne Capoue, Samuel Chukwueze

Score prediction for the Small League:

Villarreal(1-3)Liverpool

Team combination:

Preferable contest: Head to Head, Small league up to 10 members.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are of the author and are not a reflection of the actual points you might earn.