Villarreal and Liverpool meet for the first time Thursday night in a competitive game, the semi-final first leg of the Europa League.
It is the fourth time the Yellow Submarines – named after the Beatles song – have reached a European semi-final since 2004, with each ending in disappointment.
Arsenal eliminated Manuel Pellegrini's team from the 2006 Uefa Champions League, while Valencia (2003/04) and Porto (2010/11) ended their hopes in the Uefa Cup/Europa League.
Villarreal, who sit comfortably in fourth in Primera Liga – a full 20 points behind Real Madrid in third – are excellent at home where they have won all six Europa League games at El Madrigal this season.
Coached by former midfielder Marcelino, 50, they have beaten Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia and held Barcelona. In Europe, they have eliminated Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli and Sparta Prague.
Villarreal are the only one of the semi-finalists who have yet to win the competition and they are without a victory in their past 10 games against Premier League opponents.
They did win the first three games against English foes in the noughties starting with a triumph over Liverpool's neighbours Everton in 2004.
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Relegated in 2012, Villarreal were promoted straight back to the Primera Liga with a slimmed down squad based around home-grown heroes such as midfield captain Bruno, clever loan signings and the odd experienced star such as Roberto Soldado, who joined from Tottenham Hotspur in 2015.
They have also recruited emerging youngsters from rivals, as was the case with Eric Bailly from Espanyol in 2015.
Villarreal’s football has been among the best in Spain for a decade. Their best players this season have been Denis Suarez, on loan from Barcelona and Congolese striker Cedric Bakambu, 25, who has scored nine goals in Europe this season.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, 48, is already a hugely popular figure among fans, for his personality as much as the spirit he has given the team.
However, he did not win in any of the five European games when he managed his sides in Spain, though his sides have won their last four home games against Primera Liga sides.
Liverpool fans are up for it.
“Since we beat [Manchester] United (in the last 16), optimism has been raised in the competition,” explains Peter Hooton, lead singer of The Farm and lifelong Liverpool fan.
“The win against [Borussia] Dortmund only added to that. When we drew Dortmund, we thought ‘That’s it, we’re out’. They’re a great team, but because of that miraculous comeback – and it genuinely surprised everyone – we’re in the semi-finals.”
The tournament has become a high point in Liverpool’s season, sitting as they do a disappointing seventh in the Premier League. Winning the competition could be their only route back into Europe next season.
“The Europa League wasn’t regarded as important, but because we’ve played and beaten United and Dortmund, we can see it will be a big achievement getting to the final in Basel.”
Hooton is realistic. He knows this is far from a vintage Liverpool team. “You can see there’s not much confidence in the team,” he explains. “It’s not Klopp’s team, but he has changed the way they play, he’s helped create a team spirit, but there’s a feeling that this team is not invincible.”
Two thousand Liverpool fans have travelled to Spain for the game in the 24,600 capacity El Madrigal, which can hold half the town’s population.
“There would be more if the game was in Seville, but people know there’s not much going on in Villarreal,” explains Hooton.
“It also coincides with the Hillsborough inquest verdict announcement and a lot of people understandably stayed in Liverpool to hear that.”
Liverpool have far more injuries to be concerned about than Villarreal. Christian Benteke, Emre Can, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Danny Ings, Divock Origi and Jordan Rossiter are not available to play. Villarreal’s only absence is Leo Baptistao. They are hoping that they can reach a major European final at the fourth time of asking.
For Liverpool, getting this far has been a bonus they did not expect.
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