Liverpool’s ridiculous firepower to worry Villarreal defender Pau Torres and manager Unai Emery in Champions League semi-final

Villarreal face Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday night in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, and they have quite the task on their hands to keep the rampant Reds quiet.

The Yellow Submarine face a tough test against Jurgen Klopp’s quadruple-chasing side, who continue to fire on all front fronts whilst proving too hot to handle.

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Liverpool are aiming to reach their tenth European Cup final, whilst Europa League winners Villarreal are hoping to play in their first ever final at the top table.

Going into the first-leg clash, it’s clear Klopp’s man have the upper hand with a superior record in the competition so far.

From ten matches played in Europe this season, Liverpool have eight wins, one draw and one defeat, to Villarreal’s record of five wins, three draws and two defeats.

What matters, though, is winning the right games and there’s no doubt the Spanish side will provide a challenge for the Premier League outfit.

While they lost twice to Manchester United in the groups, Villarreal did enough in their other games to progress to the knockout stage – where they have seen off European giants Juventus and Bayern Munich.

It’s the goal front where Liverpool again have the upper hand, having scored 25 goals in the Champions League this season, compared to Villarreal’s 18, with both conceding 11.

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Unai Emery’s side are likely to line-up with star centre-back Pau Torres marshalling the defence, where they will look to defy the odds once again, but it won’t be easy against the Reds under the Anfield lights.

The 25-year-old, who has recently been linked with both Manchester clubs, will have to be on his game to stop the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino.

Liverpool’s forwards have been on fire, and have racked up a staggering 12 goals and nine assists between them in the club’s last six outings in all competitions.

Mane tops the charts with five goals and one assist, followed jointly by Salah and Diaz with two goals and three assists each. Jota has one goal and two assists, while Firmino has bagged a brace.

When you consider that only Salah and Mane have had regular starts, Klopp’s ability to mix and match his frontline and still deliver regular goals is a quite frightening prospect for the opposition.

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However, Torres is confident Villarreal have what it takes to produce another shock.

“We have nothing to lose,” the centre-back recently told Spanish outlet AS.

“We will be less of a surprise because we have just eliminated Juve and Bayern, so Liverpool will be a little more humble than Bayern was and they will prepare thoroughly knowing what we have achieved in the other qualifiers.

“They [Liverpool] are the clear favourites for the tie right now. We have to know who we’re up against and it’s okay to recognise that they’re favourites. But so were Juve and Bayern. We’re working hard to continue giving surprises.

“They have pretty much the best players in the world and they’ve just easily beaten Manchester United and they beat City too. But we have adapted very well in this competition to teams that are bigger than us.”

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Villarreal last reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2005/06 under Manuel Pellegrini, and none of the current squad were there.

This is a whole new experience, with the final of Europe’s elite competition two games away in Paris.

Former Arsenal boss Emery has happy memories against Liverpool after he led Sevilla to victory against Klopp’s Reds in the Europa League final in May 2016.

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Emery previously got the better of Klopp in the Europa League final in 2016[/caption]

If Emery sets-up his side to defend, though, he needs to remember Liverpool had their perfect practise of being able to breakdown a super-compact defence in their recent bruising 2-0 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby.

Should he approach with a more attack minded set-up, then Liverpool’s firepower could well exploit the spaces and take the tie beyond Villarreal’s reach for the return leg.