Liverpool vs Villarreal Prediction and Preview – 05/05/16
Europa League preview – Liverpool vs Villarreal prediction.
Liverpool midfielder Emre Can gave his manager a boost when returning to training earlier than expected from ankle ligament injury. Jurgen Klopp will monitor the German international who could start if proving his fitness. Striker Daniel Sturridge was left behind for the first leg but with Liverpool barely threatening in Spain, the England international could be recalled on Thursday.
Eric Bailly came off with a thigh injury in the first leg and is Villarreal manager, Marcelino’s biggest worry ahead of the trip to Liverpool. Mateo Musacchio was given a breather on his return on Sunday and may be the one to cover at centre-back. Fellow defender Jaume Costa and midfielders Thomas Pina and Jonathan dos Santos are receiving treatment for minor knocks and have a better chance of making the starting line-up. Adrian Lopez came off the bench to score the first-leg winner and will be pushing for a start.
Possible Line-ups
Liverpool 4-3-3 formation: Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Toure, Moreno; Milner, Lucas, Allen; Lallana, Firminho, Coutinho
Villarreal 4-4-2 formation: Asenjo; Gaspar, Bailly, Ruiz, Costa; dos Santos, Pina, Bruno, Suarez; Soldado, Bakambu
Statistics
- Liverpool have won 4 drawn 3 and lost 3 of their last 10 matches
- Villarreal have won 6 drawn 2 and lost 2 of their last 10 matches
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Liverpool have scored an average of 2.1 goals and conceded an average of 1.6 goals per game
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Villarreal have scored an average of 1.6 goals and conceded an average of 1.1 goals per game
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 7 of Liverpool’s previous 10 matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 6 of Villarreal’s previous 10 matches