Europa League Semis: The Analysis

It was an exciting week for football fans all around the world as eight clubs from different parts of Europe clashed in the 2nd leg of the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals for a place in the elite tournament’s semis.

The Liverpool vs Dortmund tie was the highlight of the week with Liverpool staging a magnificent comeback to storm into the semis. In the other matches, Sevilla managed to win on penalties in a tight encounter against Athletic Club whereas Shakhtar Donetsk and Villareal cruised through to the semis against Braga and Sparta Prague respectively.

The draws for the much-anticipated semifinals are out, in which Sevilla will take on Shakhtar Donetsk while Liverpool will lock horns with Villareal. Lets have a look at how these ties could play out:

Liverpool vs Villareal:

Liverpool have had a late upsurge in form in the Europa League as they outclassed Manchester United in the Round-of-16 and came back from the gallows to snatch what seemed like an assured victory from Dortmund, both of whom are heavyweights in Europe. Villareal, on the other hand, have been a dark horse this season as they have defeated SSC Napoli and Bayer Levekusen in the earlier rounds of the UEL.

Villareal’s performance in La Liga has been pretty impressive too, as they currently sit 4th in the table. They have managed to defeat both Madrid teams and draw against a rampaging Barcelona. Liverpool’s performance in the English Premier League has been quite ordinary as they occupy the 8th position in the table with hardly any notable performances against the top four teams.

The semi-final first leg will take place on the 28th of April at Villarreal’s home, El Madrigal. The return leg will take place a week later at Anfield. These two teams have faced each other only once, a game which ended in a 0-0 draw.

The player who could be a thorn in the flesh for Villareal against Liverpool is Phillipe Coutinho. The Brazilian midfielder has a knack of scoring stunners and can create a good number of chances.  James Milner showed against Dortmund that he can can wreak havoc against any opposition defense on his day.  Firmino and Henderson too, are important players for Liverpool. The defense has been shaky but it has to buckle up if Liverpool want  to book a place in final.

The key players who could turn the tide in Villareal’s favour are Cedric Bakumbu, Roberto Soldado and Bruno Soriano. Liverpool’s defense will have to think of a way to tackle these players, especially Bakumbu and Soldado as they lead the scoring charts for Villareal. The defense has been the cornerstone for Villareal’s impressive form as they have maintained 20 clean sheets this season.

The stakes in this match are high for the Reds, who have showed time and again that situations like these bring out the best in them. Villareal will undoubtedly go in to this match with all their might to ensure a place in Basel, Switzerland.  This should be a thrilling one.

FC Shakhtar Donetsk vs Sevilla:

The defending champions Sevilla take on the Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk in what should be a tough encounter. The Shakhtar camp will be high on confidence, courtesy of their thumping entry in to semis while Sevilla must surely be hoping that they do not have to repeat their scrappy win in the quarterfinals.

The semi-final first leg will take place on April 28 at the Lviv Arena, where Shakhtar play due to the unsafe conditions caused by the war in eastern Ukraine. The return leg will take place a week later at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.These two teams have faced each other twice and Sevilla are unbeaten having won one and drawing the other.

Sevilla have been disappointing in La Liga, where they lie 7th in the table, while Shakhtar are battling with Dynamo Kyiv for Ukrainian supremacy.

The Shakhtar players to watch out for are Croatian attacker Eduardo and Brazilians Taison and Marlos.  Shakthar lead the scoring chart in their league with 65 goals, way ahead of the table-toppers Kyiv, who have scored 47. The defense has been stable too, conceding just 20 goals.

Sevilla has a decent lineup of goal-scorers which includes Kevin Gameiro, who has scored 15 goals in the league, Fernando Llorente and Ciro Immobile. Banega and Iborra are key players for the team too. The defense has not been up to the mark, neither have their performances in front of goal, which is evident by the fact that they have scored just 47 and conceded 39 in the league.

The Los Rojiblancos have their task cut out against the side from Donetsk and their face-off should be an exciting one.