Season so far
Inigo Perez’s side sit 12th in La Liga following the weekend’s fixtures.
They have won two, drawn three and lost four in the Spanish top flight so far this term, playing out a goalless stalemate at home to Elche most recently on Saturday.
In the Champions League, meanwhile, the Yellow Submarine began the league phase with a 3-2 defeat away at Borussia Dortmund.
They got their first points on the board last week, though, by coming from a goal down to beat Napoli 3-1 at home.
Players to watch
Pape Gueye and Georges Mikautadze are Villarreal’s leading scorers so far this season with three goals apiece.
Uruguayan defender Santiago Mourino was on target in both of their previous European fixtures.
Midfielder Santi Comesana has covered the most distance in the Champions League for Perez’s charges, clocking up 22.7km.
Familiar face
Villarreal goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, now 36, was formerly a Liverpool player.
He was named on the bench on 51 occasions for the Reds between 2008 and 2013 but did not make a competitive appearance.
In the dugout
Perez was appointed as Villarreal’s head coach during the past summer.
He had previously been in charge of Rayo Vallecano and led the Madrid-based side to the final of the UEFA Conference League in 2025-26, where they were beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace.
A teammate of Andoni Iraola’s at Athletic Club during their playing career, he also served as assistant to the Liverpool boss at Rayo in 2022-23.
The pair have remained close friends, with Iraola saying: “We’ve known each other since the academy years at Athletic Club.
“We played with each other in the first team, and as soon as he retired I was quick enough to grab him to help me as an assistant.
“We’ve been through a lot of things together, so it is also a privilege for me to face him in a Champions League game.”
Previous meetings
Liverpool have faced Villarreal four times before, split across a pair of European semi-finals.
The Reds prevailed 3-1 on aggregate, including a 3-0 win at Anfield, when they met in the Europa League last four in 2016.
Six years later, Jürgen Klopp’s team beat the Spaniards in both legs of a Champions League semi-final, 2-0 at home and 3-2 away.
Stats
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Villarreal have never beaten an English team in the Champions League proper (six draws, 10 defeats) and have lost each of the last six.
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Their victory over Napoli last week was a first success in their last 13 matches in the Champions League proper (two draws, 10 defeats) and came after seven losses in a row.
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The clean sheet against Elche in their last fixture was their first since February.
