LIVERPOOL VS. VILLARREAL
| Tuesday, October 20th |
Champions League | Anfield
8PM BST/3PM EST
Villarreal won last time out in the Champions League, coming back to beat Napoli 3-1 after having lost seven straight matches in the competition. Narrowing it to this season in all competitions, they have lost five of their 10 matches thus far this season, drawing two and winning three (against Napoli, Levante, and Málaga — the latter their only away win). They have kept only one clean sheet this season, though it did come at the weekend against Elche at home. As such, their form can be said to be improving, with their only loss in the last five coming away against Real Madrid, and even then only a 1-0 loss.
They might approach the match against Liverpool very similarly, prioritizing a strong defensive structure over any risk-taking in attack. This was taken to the extreme against Real Madrid, with Villarreal managing just 0.59 xG (the lowest Real Madrid conceded all season) even though their opponents were down to 10 men following Vinícius Jr.’s viral red card in the 72nd minute. Though Villarreal did manage 15 shots over the course of the game, eight of them were from distance, and a further four were at the edge of the box. It was an ugly win for Real Madrid, but certainly worth looking at.
On the other side of things we have their five goal thriller against Dortmund, who won at home 3-2 at the start of the league phase, and all the goals came in the second half. Late goals is a quiet pattern of late, but conceding first is a big one. Liverpool should look to get on the scoresheet first and maintain their lead for once, with attention to a late push from the visitors.
Villarreal made nine changes for their league game at the weekend, so they will come to Anfield with a level of rest Liverpool cannot afford due both to the toughness of the Premier League and the thinness of the squad. Pape Gueye is their current leading scorer, with three goals in all competitions and none in two matches in the Champions League thus far.
The Spanish side and their fans had a good time in Merseyside last time they traveled to play Liverpool, and will hope to replicate the vibes. Liverpool will hope to replicate the result, too.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Gakpo, Wirtz, Ngumoha; Isak
Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong are unavailable for this one through injury, with Frimpong having picked up a new injury and Szoboszlai having a “slight setback” on his existing issue. Andoni Iraola clarified that Szoboszlai isn’t expected to miss more time and rather returned to the situation he was in last week, thus could be in contention against Brighton at the weekend but will be unable to feature Tuesday.
Given these absences, Ryan Gravenberch is likely to start this one alongside either Alexis Mac Allister or Trey Nyoni as the Liverpool boss looks both to manage minutes.
Iraola has more decisions to make in attack, and given Cody Gakpo’s presence on the bench at the weekend it’s likely he gets minutes in here as he returns to fitness. Equally, Alexander Isak might expect to go again to regain rhythm should his own fitness allow it, with Lewis Koumas always willing to step in. We then have a toss-up for a start to Rio Ngumoha, Víctor Muñoz, and Bradley Barcola, with all looking bright in recent matches. There’s no bad decisions in this bunch, and thus Iraola can be expected to start whichever combination makes the most sense in terms of fitness and sharpness, and with Brighton in mind. Florian Wirtz is likely to go again as the coach tends to pick him where possible, and his creative success against Brentford is something to build on — but equally this could be one earmarked for a rest, with both Nyoni and Mac Allister thus starting in the middle alongside Gravenberch.
The back four likely pick themselves, with a possible Kostas Tsimikas rotation in for Miloš Kerkez on the left. Without Szoboszlai, Tsimikas provides the most quality from corners, which could come in handy Tuesday night. Should further rest be in order in the back four, Joe Gomez is fit and available to start and could play on the right or in place of either centerback.
The Managers Have Their Say
Andoni Iraola: [on the start of his tenure at Liverpool] “”I haven’t even had time to think about it. I’ve seen a little bit of everything so far, but I don’t have time to reflect a lot during the season. It is about learning through the process and adapting to the situation right now. All we are trying to do is learn and improve every day … You learn by going through difficulties. Until you’re under the pressure of having to try Victor Munoz in a position he hasn’t played before or playing with 10 men, you don’t have the knowledge about each other. These things show the character of the players.”
Iñigo Pérez: “Right now [after drawing with Elche] we’re left with that bitter feeling because a draw isn’t enough. But when we analyze today’s game calmly, I think there will be many things we’ll want to repeat at Anfield. Nobody is happy with the draw at the moment, but I’m sure we’ll be able to take plenty of positives from the performance.”
The Officials
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL) Assistants: Tomasz Listkiewicz, Adam Kupsik (POL) Fourth Official: Wojciech Myc (POL) VAR: Piotr Lasyk (POL) Assistant VAR: Benjamin Brand (GER)
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