Villarreal vs. FC Porto – UEFA Europa League Preview
A mountain to climb
El Madrigal, Spain will see La Liga side, Villarreal take on Portuguese giants FC Porto in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-final. Villarreal have a mountain to climb after losing 5-1 at the Dragao to the newly-crowned Portuguese League champions.
Villarreal goalkeeper, Diego Lopez, has refused to give up on reaching the final in Dublin despite last Wednesday’s sickening loss. It seemed that everything was going perfectly for the Yellow Submarines when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cani-c8305 gave the Spaniards a 1-0 lead at half-time.
However, all that changed in the second half as four goals by Falcao and one from Fredy Guarin all but ended the Yellow Submarines Europa league dreams.
While Lopez admits that overcoming such a huge deficit would be hard but is hopeful that his side has enough strength and belief to turn the tie around. While talking to the media, the shot-stopper said, ''It could hardly be more difficult, but it's not
impossible. It's going to be difficult but in the dressing room we are convinced that we can achieve it.''
The custodian went on to claim that Villarreal were the better side in the first leg apart from the last 30-minutes in which the Yellow Submarine conceded 5 goals. ''Porto played great football for 30 minutes, but we were better in the rest of the game.
We are ready to give our all and show that we are a great team and that we can beat them,'' he said.
Complacency not the order of the day
Porto have a great chance of making it to the final of the Europa League in May. Villarreal will have to score five goals past Porto goalkeeper, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Helton-c16018. Complacency would be the only thing that might jeopardise Andre Villas Boas’ dream to play the final
in Dublin.
Boas knows that Villarreal will enter the field with an attacking mind-set right from the start and while talking to the reporters, the 33-year-old manager said, "We are physically and mentally prepared for any situation in the game, as shown by our experience
against big teams in big stadiums. I hope that if victory is achieved it becomes a victory for the whole country, and pride for all the players who form this team."
Team News
Villarreal
Defender Jose Catala is suspended for the game while Gonzalo, Angel Lopez and Javier OIiva are going to miss the crucial second-leg due to their respective injuries. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marcos-Senna-c23808 is back in the squad after the Brazil-born midfielder
recovered from a hamstring injury.
FC Porto
Andre Villas Boas has a fully-fit squad to choose from but the Portuguese tactician might make a few changes to the side that beat Sporting Lisbon 3-2 on May 4, 2011.
Player to watch
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Giuseppe-Rossi-c15027 (Villarreal)
The Italian International has been in fine form for Villarreal. This season, the former Manchester United striker has scored 10 goals in the Europa League alone. His form would play a vital role in Villarreal’s hope of reaching the final.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Radamel-Falcao-c30276
The Colombian International has been in excellent form in Europe this season. In his just second season at Porto, Falcao has scored 15 goals in just 12 games in the Europa League – a tally that speaks for itself. After scoring four goals against Villarreal
last Wednesday, the South American would surely be looking to add to his numbers as he looks to play in the final at Dublin later this month.
Prediction
Overcoming a four goal deficit would definitely require a lot of effort from Villarreal. With http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nilmar-c28044 and Rossi in their ranks, the Yellow Submarine can definitely beat Porto for the first time in the Europa League this season but it seems unrealistic for
even the most optimistic of Villarreal fans to see the side breeze past Porto into the final.
Predicted Final score: Villarreal 3-2 http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Porto-c39186 (4-7 on aggregate)
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