Anfield, the last obstacle to a dream final

An Adrian Lopez goal in the dying moments of the first leg against Liverpool FC played at El Madrigal put Villarreal CF one step away from the final which they have been working towards for so many years. The Spanish outfit turn out at Anfield today, Thursday, intent on defending their lead and reaching their first ever Europa League final. 

The Yellow Submarine are hoping their third semi-final in the competition will be the one that sees them secure a place in the big final to be played at St. Jakob-Park stadium in Basel (Switzerland) on 18 May. The Spanish side previously reached the semi-finals of the tournament in the 2003/04 season, when they were knocked out by Valencia CF, who went on to win the trophy that year. Seven seasons later, Villarreal once again made it through to the penultimate round, but were beaten by FC Porto. 

Marcelino Garcia Toral will have his full squad available to defend their 1-0 lead from the first leg, with Eric Bailly and Leo Baptistao having overcome their injury problems in recent days and travelled to Merseyside. 

The Spanish coach is convinced that his team will not be intimidated by the atmosphere generated at Anfield and is confident of progressing to the final. "We're hopeful and have a good chance of making it through to the Europa League final. It's nice for us to be able to play this semi-final at this stadium, but under no circumstances will we be affected by the atmosphere that Anfield is capable of creating. Going through to the final from Anfield is an even greater motivation," said Marcelino. 

Liverpool, meanwhile, will be without the injured Jordan Henderson, Danny Ings, Divock Origi, Jordan Rossiter and Joe Gomez, although they do have Emre Can back after being forced to sit out recent games. The Reds are well aware how tough the task ahead of them is if they want to book a place in the final. "We're coming up against a team which plays differently to what we are used to. They move the ball so well – something we don't meet week in, week out in England. However, we did our preparation well and we learned a great deal for the game at Anfield," said the midfielder Joe Allen.