Liverpool would be mad to underestimate Villarreal, who will be just as tough as Dortmund

Last week when the Europa League draw was made, after the now standard 30-minute faffing about, I saw a lot of Liverpool fans gleefully tweeting that they’d got the best draw possible. Now I don’t mean to be rude but I can only put that down to their knowledge of Villarreal coming mainly from Wikipedia and that semi-final penalty miss from Juan Roman Riquelme. While I wouldn’t suggest Liverpool fans should fear anyone after beating Borussia Dortmund I’d argue that Villarreal were the were possible draw available.

If you take a quick glance at Villarreal I can understand the logic behind embracing the draw, but less so if you’ve actually witnessed them play this season. One of the positives of drawing the Yellow Submarines is obviously not having to make the long journey to the Ukraine, even though Shakhtar Donetsk are the weakest side left in the competition. A trip to Spain certainly won’t be as taxing and the club might still harbour faint hopes of making the European spots in the league so this should help.

I can also see the logic of wanting to avoid Sevilla too. Liverpool fans can be known to inform you of how many times they’ve won the Champions League and for Sevilla fans the Europa League has a similar connection. They won the competition twice under its old name of the UEFA Cup as well as the last two seasons under the new guise of the Europa League. And domestically, like Liverpool, they look set to miss out on Champions League qualification via the league route so suddenly European glory is the golden ticket to the top table.

Yet this isn’t a Sevilla side that resembles the one which won the tournament last year. Unai Emery got the balance right when it came to rotation as they finished the domestic season in fine form before scraping past Dnipro in the Europa League final. This season the balance hasn’t been right and results depend heavily on whether both Ever Banega and Kevin Gameiro are playing. We’re approaching the end of April and the team has still yet to win away in La Liga and only won for the first time on their travels in Europe in the last round versus Athletic Club, losing four of the previous five (three in Champions League, one in Europa League).

So, Villarreal, what’s all the fuss about? There’s a lot to admire about Marcelino’s side and they’ve developed into one of the most consistent teams in La Liga. There’s been concern in the past that they’re a bit like Arsenal in that they’re generally strong starters but fall away towards the end. Marcelino is a strict disciplinarian and demands a huge focus on fitness, running and stamina but due to smaller squads this style has eventually come back to haunt him. Less so this year.

At his disposal is arguably one of the best squads they’ve had in recent years. A lot is made of Sevilla and Monchi’s success when it comes to transfer dealings but Villarreal deserve to be as highly regarded as them. They lost keys players in Luciano Vietto, Giovani dos Santos, Ikechukwu Uche and Gerard Moreno which basically made up their entire attack. Joel Campbell and Denis Cheryshev, particularly the latter, were instrumental members of the squad but returned to their parent clubs in the summer as no deal could be reached to either extend or buy them outright. That’s a huge part of not only the squad but the starting XI to replace and Villarreal left it late to get business done.

Roberto Soldado, Cedric Bakambu, Adrian Lopez and Leo Baptistao were the chosen quartet to make up the loss of the previous goalscorers. The first two have struck up a wonderful partnership from the first moment as Soldado’s unselfishness has benefitted the raw yet exciting Bakambu, who has 22 goals this season. Adrian and Baptistao have done okay in their secondary roles and have nine goals between them in all competitions.

To replace Cheryshev they brought in Samu Castillejo from Malaga, another youngster with a bright future. He’s not reached the heights of the Russian but no one expected him to. There’s plenty of potential in Castillejo and he’s grown into a more important figure as the season has worn on but next year should be his real time to shine. Out wide there’s also been a key role for Denis Suarez, bought from Barcelona after an ill-fated stay at Sevilla, and he’s had a solid season – five goals and 12 assists isn’t a bad return at all. Whether he’ll be around next season remains in doubt as Barcelona contemplate activating the buyback clause in his contract.

In the table Villarreal sit a whopping 11 points clear of Sevilla and six ahead of Athletic Club in fifth-place. Without doubt a key part of their success in the league this season has been their impressive home form, where they’ve only lost two of their 17 matches at El Madrigal. Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Real Madrid and Valencia are amongst the 12 victims who have left Castellon empty-handed while Barcelona only just managed to escape with a point. In Europe they’ve won all six ties at home, including impressive victories over Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen.

If there’s an advantage for Liverpool it’s the fact the second leg is at home. Villarreal set themselves up slightly differently away from home and tend to frustrate rather than go for the jugular.

It’s strange but they seem to struggle most against the league’s smaller sides, probably because of how compact they are, and have earned respectable draws away to Las Palmas, Athletic Club, Atletico Madrid and Celta Vigo. Liverpool’s openness will suit Villarreal if they don’t squander their chances on the break.

Last week’s 4-2 victory over Sparta Prague was just the second time they’d won away in Europe, although it’s worth pointing out they are unbeaten since losing on the opening match day to Rapid Wien back in September so are capable of holding onto to advantages when tasked with going away.

Despite the success of Bakambu and Soldado’s partnership the team itself aren’t generally high goalscorers. In La Liga they’ve scored 42 goals in 32 matches which is 56 less than Real Madrid have managed. Where Villarreal do stand out is at the back and they’ve got the second best defensive record in the country behind Atletico Madrid.

Mateo Musacchio is a crucial part of that defence and it’s no surprise to see an improvement in results once the Argentine returned. The good news for Liverpool is that he’s currently out of the squad after picking up a muscle injury and is touch and go to make the first leg but should be okay for the trip to Anfield. However Roberto Soldado, out of tomorrow’s game versus Real Madrid, is expected to play in both legs.

It’s true Villarreal have a small stadium, one which if filled completely by residents of the city itself would account for half of the population there. But they are capable of generating a good atmosphere and the visit of Liverpool is as big as Barcelona or Real Madrid coming to town, more so when they’re just two games away from a major European final. What it lacks in size it makes up for in character and they’ll want as big of an advantage as possible heading into the away trip, as we all know how good Liverpool can be at home.

I’m not saying Villarreal will definitely win or Liverpool have no chance because that would be absurd but it’s a much tougher game than casual La Liga fans in England are making it sound. Liverpool will need to match the high level they demonstrated against Dortmund if they want to make the final but it’s crucial they take something away from El Madrigal. If not the victory over Dortmund might have been in vain.