Liverpool vs Villarreal Betting Tips & Predictions

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp certainly seems to have made an error in judgement in the first leg of this Europa League tie. He seemingly opted to try and settle for a goalless draw in Villarreal, a dangerous tactic if only for the reason that they would then need an outright win at Anfield. The other flaw in the plan became evident in the 92nd minute, when Adrian scored the only goal of the game to leave Liverpool needing to win by two goals back at home.

The approach in tactics for the second leg seems an obvious choice for Liverpool. They will go on the attack from the outset and look for a goal, but Villarreal’s tactics could be interesting. Will they opt to sit back and defend their 1-0 lead, potentially falling into the same trap as Liverpool did in the first leg, or will they go hunting for an early goal to leave Liverpool needing three goals without reply?

Liverpool followed their loss in Spain up with a 3-1 defeat to Swansea on Sunday, a result which made it three games without a win and highlighted some glaring defensive problems. They have conceded six goals in their last three matches and have only kept one clean sheet in their last 11 outings.

Villarreal, on the other hand, have managed to keep three clean sheets in a row now and have won six of their last nine in all competitions. Their top four position only requires another point from their remaining two league games to fend off any potential competitions from Athletic Bilbao, so all focus will be on this Europa League tie now.

Liverpool have been involved in some very high scoring matches recently. They have seen a total of 28 goals in their last seven matches, with all but one of these seeing at least three goals scored. Six of Villarreal’s last ten have also seen at least three goals, and with Liverpool desperation for goals potential leaving their already vulnerable defence even more exposed I think we could see a fair few goals on Thursday. Odds of 6/5 for Over 2.5 Goals look very good value to me, and I’m going for a 2-1 win for Liverpool at 8/1 as well.