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

Villarreal and Liverpool meet in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday 3 May.

Where to watch Villarreal vs Liverpool on TV

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

What happened in the first leg?

Liverpool could have been out of sight before half-time in a characteristically dominant display. The Reds went up a gear in the second period and two goals in three minutes soon after the restart confirmed their ascendancy. First Jordan Henderson's cross ballooned into the net via a deflection off Pervis Estupiñán before Sadio Mané latched on to Mohamed Salah's cute through ball to make it 2-0. From then on it was damage limitation for Villarreal.

Confirmed starting line-ups

Villarreal: Rulli: Foyth, Albiol, Pau Torres, Estupiñán; Lo Celso, Parejo, Capoue, Coquelin; Gerard Moreno, Dia

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Keïta, Fabinho, Thiago Alcántara; Salah, Mané, Diogo Jota

• Time to change your Fantasy line-up?

Form guide

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

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

• Why Villarreal are the Yellow Submarine

Expert predictions

Graham Hunter, Villarreal reporter
The last thing anyone who knows this remarkable, characterful club would do is write them off. But the odds keep stacking. Two goals behind, and glad to leave Anfield still in the tie, Villarreal suddenly have a full physio’s room. The two key doubts are Raúl Albiol, Unai Emery’s most experienced player, and Gerard Moreno, their leader in attack. The chances are that both make a gargantuan effort to play. But at their peak form? Only time will tell.

There was a very strong sense of wounded pride after the first leg; the Yellow Submarine have a point to prove and a first Champions League final to reach. Discard them at your peril.

Matthew Howarth, Liverpool reporter
While it would be foolish to dismiss Villarreal’s comeback hopes entirely, it would take a near-miraculous recovery to deny Liverpool a third final in five seasons. Jürgen Klopp was able to rest a number of first-team regulars during Saturday’s 1-0 win at Newcastle and is likely to have a near full-strength squad to choose from for what should be an evening of celebration for the Reds.

What the coaches say

Unai Emery, Villarreal coach: "'We are in good home form. Starting 2-0 behind is complicated. We will seek to create situations in the game to allow us to come close to equalising. The removal of the away goals rule benefits us. The home factor was key for Liverpool but we managed to defend well and avoid giving them more of an advantage. We are psyched up to play our game. We want to enjoy this moment with our fans."

Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool coach: "We have to be ready to play a top game because they will go for us with a high press and try to play much more football than we allowed them to in the first leg. Unai will try to adapt a few things to our style. We never expect a Champions League semi-final to be easy, and this one won't be. You never know if we will ever have a chance to go to the final again, so you'd better treat it carefully and be ready – and we will be."

When and 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 Champions League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.