Tuesday’s props column has selected a pair of Villarreal players to see yellow in their Champions League semi-final against Liverpool.
Liverpool look like they’ve got one foot in a 10th European Cup/Champions League final, but they know only too well what it’s like to produce a second-leg comeback of the like Villarreal need on Tuesday.
Unai Emery’s side will become just the second team to overturn a two-goal deficit to win a Champions League semi-final – with the only other side being Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
The Reds beat Barcelona 4-0 to erase a 3-0 first-leg defeat in that memorable night at Anfield, and while the Estadio de la Ceramica isn’t exactly Anfield, it will be bouncing for this biggest of games.
Liverpool have also had a tricky time in second legs in this campaign – they’ve won both first legs against Inter and Benfica comfortably earning two-goal leads, yet won neither second leg.
They lost 1-0 at Anfield to Inter and drew 3-3 with Benfica as neither approach of protecting the lead or blowing the opposition away seemed to work.
The best approach here is just to go out and win the game, so a lot will depend on the Villarreal approach, which Emery warned would be much different.
Villarreal haven’t lost at home in any competition since November, but don’t expect a gung-ho charge from the first whistle.
Emery is a canny operator and he’ll know Liverpool will dominate the ball again, and stopping them scoring early is priority number one, followed by trying to pinch a goal and make it interesting later on.
To that end, we’re skipping the match result and diving into the player props for today’s Bet Builder and looking at two players wearing yellow who will likely see yellow.
Firstly, Juan Foyth could be in for another rough night on the right of Villarreal’s defence as the hosts will have to push up at some stage, and Liverpool’s counter attack can be devastating.
Luis Diaz will likely be in opposition, and without the cover of a deep-lying midfield, Foyth is in danger of seeing a card, just like he did with a booking at Bayern, at a nice price of 3.02/1.
There’s a number of options for a running mate for Foyth, but the most interesting is former Tottenham team-mate Giovani Lo Celso.
Foyth’s fellow Argentinian has a similar excitable temperament and was booked in the first leg, and also against Bayern as he tries to offer some pressing up front.
With Villarreal at some point having to press the Reds and force the issue, Lo Celso will lead that line, and at 3.02/1 for another card it’s easy to see him putting his foot in one too many times.
Given the occasion will only serve to increase the intensity, these two seeing yellow in an 8.07/1 double looks a nice bet for this huge game.
Source: Betfair Champions League
