Villareal defender Pau Torres believes Liverpool are favourites to reach the Champions League final once again this season.
The English and Spanish sides will face each other next Wednesday evening for the semi-final first leg at Anfield before going head-to-head in the Estadio de la Cerámica six days later. Whoever prevails will come up against either Real Madrid or Manchester City in the Paris final on Saturday, May 28.
Yellow Submarines centre-back Torres is under no illusions that his side are considered the underdogs in their last-four contest, but still believes that the La Liga side can flourish in that role, just as they have done in the last two knockout rounds.
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Speaking to Marca, as per Sport Witness, he said: “They are the clear favourites right now; they are in great form. They take advantage of any slip-up at the slightest opportunity. We have to know who we’re up against, and it’s okay to recognize that they are favourites. But so were Juve and Bayern. We are here to prepare for it, work on it and continue to cause surprises. In the end, we have nothing to lose; on the contrary.
“We are very hungry to do great things. We’ll be less of a surprise because we’ve just eliminated Juve and Bayern, so Liverpool will be a little more humble than Bayern were and will prepare thoroughly knowing what we’re capable of.”
The Reds have face the Spanish side in a European semi-final before. Back in 2016, Jurgen Klopp's side had to overcome a 1-0 first leg deficit to secure a 3-0 second leg win at Anfield, cementing a Europa League final place with a 3-1 aggregate win. A Bruno Soriano own goal, supplemented by strikes from Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana was enough to get the job done on the night, but this time Liverpool will be looking to take an advantage of their own into the second leg.
Under the guidance of Unai Emery, Villareal's arrival in the Champions League semi-final stage is no happy accident. After advancing from the group stage in second place, Juventus were hot favourites to make it through to the quarterfinals but after a 1-1 draw in Spain, Villareal secured a brilliant 3-0 win in Turin to stun the Old Lady and go through 4-1 on aggregate.
They then faced Bayern Munich in the last eight, and despite Emery's side edging a 1-0 win at home, were still major underdogs heading to Germany. However a last-gasp counter-attack equaliser from Samuel Chukwueze snatched a 1-1 draw in the second leg that left five-times champions Munich not only stunned, but eliminated.
With giant killing pedigree already established, Liverpool will be weary of a deadly blow from the Yellow Submarines, should they leave their guard down for even a moment.
