Liverpool vs Villarreal Champions League semi-final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted line-ups

Liverpool and Villarreal meet in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday 27 April.

Where to watch Liverpool vs Villarreal on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

With Manchester City taking on Real Madrid in the other fixture, the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League semi-finals are both England vs Spain affairs, and Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp has history on his side against Villarreal. The German coach was in charge when the sides met in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League semi-finals, a 3-0 second-leg win at Anfield taking the Reds to the final following a 1-0 defeat in Villarreal.

• When and where is the Champions League final?
• Champions League semi-finalists - why each team can win it
• Champions League final tickets on sale

Starting line-ups

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcántara; Salah, Mané, Luis Díaz
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

Villarreal: Rulli; Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Estupiñán; Parejo, Capoue, Coquelin; Chukwueze, Lo Celso, Danjuma
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

Form guide

Liverpool
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWWDDW
Where they stand: 2nd in Premier League, FA Cup final, League Cup winners

Villarreal
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWDDWL
Where they stand: 7th in Spanish Liga

Expert predictions

Matthew Howarth, Liverpool reporter
Despite the visitors' superb knockout wins against Juventus and Bayern, the overwhelming majority of Liverpool supporters fully expect their side to reach a third UEFA Champions League final in five seasons at Villarreal’s expense. The Yellow Submarine are certain to offer stern resistance at Anfield, but the Reds are on an imperious run of form on home soil and anything other than another victory for Jürgen Klopp's team on Wednesday would be a considerable upset.

Graham Hunter, Villarreal reporter
It was also for a semi-final that Villarreal last visited Anfield, but the Yellow Submarine will want no repeat of that 2015/16 Europa League tie, when they suffered a 3-0 defeat. Of course, it was Unai Emery who then faced Liverpool in the final as coach of Sevilla – and the Basque would surely sign up for the 3-1 win he imposed on Jürgen Klopp's men in Basel. This time around, he must find a way to cope without Gerard Moreno, whose hamstring injury could hardly have been worse timed, while replicating the exceptional positional discipline shown in Turin and Munich in the previous rounds.

What the coaches say

Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool manager: "We did a proper analysis. I had a lot of respect for [Unai] Emery and Villarreal before, but I watched them properly and wow! Impressive. He is a detail-obsessed manager. Different ways to press and react to different results. A world-class coach doing an incredible job."

Unai Emery, Villarreal coach: "Any side that is in a Champions League semi-final is there because they deserve to be. Liverpool know we have a great European presence, that we have been able to eliminate two great teams [in Juventus and Bayern]. They know it won't be easy. They will feel like favourites, of course, but will have respect for us. This is the best Liverpool side that I have seen. I see that as an additional motivation: to try and beat the best-ever Liverpool."

Where is the 2022 Champions League final?

The Stade de France in Saint-Denis will host the final on Saturday 28 May at 21:00 CET.

The winners gain a place in the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.