Villarreal vs Dinamo Zagreb Europa League preview: where to watch, team news, predictions

Villarreal lead Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 ahead of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg on 15 April at 21:00 CET. This page will update with team news, quotes and expert analysis as kick-off approaches.

What happened in the first leg?

The visitors were always in the ascendancy, although Mislav Oršić had an early goal disallowed for offside. The balance shifted after Gerard Moreno's cross was handled by Kevin Théophile-Catherine and the striker made no mistake from the spot. Villarreal dominated after the break but were unable to find a second goal.

Where to watch the game on TV

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

Form guide

Villarreal
Form: LWWWWW
Latest: Villarreal 1-2 Osasuna, 11/04
Where they stand: 7th in Liga

Dinamo Zagreb
Form: WLDWWW
Latest: Lokomotiva 0-2 Dinamo Zagreb, 11/04
Where they stand: 1st in 1. HNL

Possible line-ups

Villarreal: Asenjo; Foyth, Albiol, Pau Torres, Pedraza; Moi, Parejo, Capoue, Trigueros; Gerard Moreno, Paco Alcácer

Dinamo Zagreb: Livaković; Ristovski, Lauritsen, Théophile-Catherine, Gvardiol; Jakić; Ivanušec, Ademi, Majer, Oršić; Petković

Expert predictions

Graham Hunter, Villarreal reporter: Having a lead going into a home decider would be a significant advantage for most, but it may be less of a bonus for Villarreal. Defeat to Osasuna at the weekend means, domestically, Unai Emery’s team have recorded only one home win since 2 January: a stark contrast to their thus-far perfect European home record. Emery admitted that winning in Zagreb had tired his team. They will have to dig deep and ooze mental and physical freshness to ensure their passage to the semi-finals.

Elvir Islamović, Dinamo Zagreb reporter: Damir Krznar has had injury problems with key players injuries lately. Young defender Joško Gvardiol and Bruno Petković played in the first leg when they were not fully fit, while captain Arijan Ademi hurt his ankle in the last league match and faces a race against time to start against Villarreal. The Croatian champions are up against it, but they will look to rise to the occasion again and cause another sensation.

View from the camps

Unai Emery pictured during the first legGetty Images

Unai Emery, Villarreal coach: "Our strength comes from respecting the opponent, and from this we can build on the result from the first leg. They'd barely lost a game at home, so winning there was an important challenge for us. They didn't lose any games away from home in the group stage and that shows they've got great players. We know how they like to play and if you let them link up or hit you on the counter, where they're quick, they can do you damage."

Damir Krznar, Dinamo coach: "We still have a realistic chance, the recipe is how we played in the first half. I think we are still in the tie."

Rasmus Lauritsen, Dinamo defender: "We still have 90 minutes in Spain. I believe we can do it, I really do. That's football – we did it against Tottenham, we showed we can do it, why wouldn't we do it again?"