Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's Europa League semi-final first leg between Villarreal and Liverpool! One of these clubs is just 180 minutes away from the final in Basel and potentially a guaranteed place in the Champions League next season, but neither can afford to look further forward than tonight's game. We have a bumper two-hour build-up to the game for you tonight, so let's get started with a look at the home side!

The hosts come into this tie as the underdogs, and that is a label that manager Marcelino has not been too quick to deny. Liverpool's victory over Borussia Dortmund made them the new favourites to life the trophy this season, but Marcelino also pointed to the Reds' European pedigree as reasons behind their status as favourites to progress from this tie. Indeed, the Villarreal boss went as far as calling Liverpool a "legendary" club, but also insisted that his side did not feel inferior to Jurgen Klopp's.

It makes for an interesting battle over the two legs, and Villarreal will certainly fancy their chances of progressing to what would be a first ever European final. That would cap off what has already been a highly impressive campaign for the Yellow Submarine (there is a Liverpool/Beatles gag in there somewhere), but they will be wary of their past experiences in the final four of competitions. They have reached the semi-finals of this tournament twice and the Champions League once - with Manuel Pellegrini at the helm - but on each occasion they have ended up disappointed.

They are certainly worthy of a European trophy - or a final at the very least - when you look at their record down the years in the Europa League. They are the highest scorers in the history of this competition, with 82, while they have also won more matches than any other club (26 - one more than Benfica and Sevilla). Ominously for Liverpool going into tonight's game, they have also only failed to find the back of the net once in their last 31 Europa League games, yet they are the only club left in the semi-finals not to have lifted the trophy.

EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL MEMORIES: Throughout this build-up I will be looking back on past memories of European semi-final memories involving these two clubs, but unfortunately they won't be happy ones as far as Villarreal are concerned. The first time they reached this stage of the competition was in 2004 when they were drawn against compatriots Valencia, but Mista scored the only goal over the two legs to send Villarreal crashing out.

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In this season's competition, Villarreal have been going pretty well despite getting off on the wrong foot with defeat to Rapid Vienna in their opening group game. They could only managed a second-placed finish behind Vienna in Group E, but they are unbeaten in 11 matches since that opening game. Qualification from the group was never really in doubt, with Villarreal finishing nine points clear of Plzen and 10 above Dinamo Minsk, before traversing tricky tests against Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen in the first two knockout rounds.

The quarter-finals saw them drawn against Sparta Prague in arguably their easiest knockout round up to that point, and sure enough they made fairly short work of the Czech side. A 2-1 win in the home first leg set them up nicely, and the tie was well and truly wrapped up in Prague when Villarreal raced into a 4-0 lead inside 50 minutes. The hosts did pull a couple of goals back before their exit was confirmed, but in the end Villarreal's 6-3 aggregate success was very convincing. In all, they have been very impressive in the knockout rounds.

Their best work in the competition this season has come at home, where they boast a 100% record with six wins from six. It was a perfect record for the first five of those games, with Villarreal keeping clean sheets in all of their wins, before Sparta Prague became the first team to score against Marcelino's side at El Madrigal in the Europa League. Still, one goal conceded in six home games is a record they can rightly be proud of, and if they can improve that again tonight then they will have prevented Liverpool from scoring an important away goal.

EUROPEAN SEMI-FINAL MEMORIES: It may not have been in this competition, but Villarreal also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League back in 2006 - their best European performance in the club's history. They were drawn up against Arsenal, but Kolo Toure's goal proved decisive over the two legs as Arsenal progressed, before being beaten by Barcelona in the final. Villarreal could come up against Toure again tonight should he be selected by Klopp.

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The Europa League is, of course, a route into the Champions League as well, but Villarreal will be hopeful of gaining entry to Europe's top-tier competition via the traditional route of league qualification. They currently sit fourth in La Liga, which is about the best that teams outside the Madrid clubs and Barcelona can hope for right now. They have only three games remaining of their season and sit four points clear of fifth-placed Celta Vigo, so they will be confident of getting themselves over the line from this position.

They do need to return to form sooner rather than later if they are to keep the chasing pack at arm's length, though, with Marcelino's side still looking for their first win since booking their place in the semi-finals of this competition. Saturday's goalless draw with Real Sociedad made it three games in a row without victory in La Liga, while they have only won two of their last nine to let the likes of Celta and Athletic Bilbao claw their way back into the Champions League race. Villarreal take on a Valencia side in good form in their next match, before games against struggling Deportivo and relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon to finish their domestic season.

Considering Gijon's battle against the drop, the easiest of those games on paper is perhaps the Deportivo match, which is their only remaining league game at home. It is at El Madrigal that they have been most impressive this season. I have already mentioned their Europa League form here, but in all competitions they are unbeaten in five and have only lost three of 26 all season, including 19 wins. Perhaps the biggest proof of how difficult a ground this is to visit is in the fact that Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Napoli have all been beaten here, while Barcelona could only manage a draw.

Despite the presence of the in-form Cedric Bakambu, Villarreal's success has not been based on a free-scoring attack. Indeed, they are the lowest scorers in the top nine of La Liga with just 42 goals from their 35 outings. Instead, they have been tight at the back, with only Atletico Madrid and Barcelona boasting better defensive records. That is particularly true at home, where they have conceded just 12 goals and kept 16 clean sheets from 26 matches in all competitions, while Celta Vigo and Barcelona are the only visiting teams to score more than once at El Madrigal this term.

EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL MEMORIES: Villarreal's most recent appearance at this stage of the competition came in 2010-11, and while their other two European semi-finals had been tight affairs, this one against Porto was anything but. The tie was all but over after the first leg, which Porto won 5-1, and while Villarreal did manage to record a 3-2 win in the return leg, the damage had already been done and they went out 7-4 on aggregate. Like Valencia seven years before, Porto went on to lift the trophy that year, which is a good omen for Liverpool should they progress from this tie.

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While Villarreal are bidding for their first appearance in a European final, Liverpool have been here and done many times before. They are three-time winners of this particular tournament back when it was known as the UEFA Cup, and are five-time champions of Europe altogether. However, this is the first time that they have reached the semi-final for six years, while they haven't graced the showpiece of a European final since 2007, when they were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan in the Champions League - a repeat of the famous 2005 final in Istanbul.

Their manager Jurgen Klopp also has European pedigree in the latter stages having emerged victorious from his only previous semi-final - beating Real Madrid in the Champions League last four to reach the 2012-13 final. He is yet to lose a European game in charge of Liverpool too, with five wins and five draws, and his recent team selections domestically suggest that this is very much the club's priority now. It is easy to see why too, with the winners gaining a Champions League place that would otherwise be beyond Liverpool by the looks of things. The club seem to be heading in the right direction under Klopp, and Champions League football would further help to lure in new talent this summer.

The top-four places certainly seem to be beyond the Reds in the Premier League now after they dropped points at home to Newcastle United on Saturday. Rafael Benitez made his return to Anfield and pulled off a two-goal comeback to keep the Magpies' survival hopes alive, but it was a result that left Liverpool nine points off the top four. They are still mathematically in the race and do have a game in hand over Manchester City and Arsenal, but there are two teams better placed to capitalise should either of those two falter, and it would take a highly unlikely set of results for Liverpool to sneak in.

EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL MEMORIES: Liverpool won this trophy - and indeed any European trophy - for the first time in 1973, and three years later they were back in the latter stages of the competition. They were drawn against Barcelona in the semi-finals that year, but stunned the Camp Nou with a 1-0 victory before drawing the return leg 1-1 to secure a 2-1 aggregate triumph. They went on to win the trophy that season too.

While Liverpool's Premier League finish looks like being a disappointing one, with the club still stuck down in seventh, the signs are certainly promising for the club at the moment. They struggled for consistency in the early days under Jurgen Klopp, but are now beginning to find goals with more regularity and, while they are still prone to the odd defensive slip-up, wins like the recent 4-0 thrashing of Everton in the Merseyside derby seem to be becoming more common. For most of the campaign Liverpool have been amongst the lowest scorers in the top half of the table, but now only the top three have scored more than the Reds - a big turnaround from just a few months ago.

While the weekend draw with Newcastle was a disappointing result, particularly having had a two-goal lead, Liverpool do come into tonight's match unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions since a 3-2 defeat to Southampton more than five weeks ago - another game in which they let a 2-0 advantage slip. That loss to Southampton is their only defeat in their last 18 outings inside 90 minutes, with nine wins and eight draws in that time. However, they have been beaten in extra time by West Ham United and on penalties by Manchester City during that spell.

Away from home things have been particularly inconsistent, despite some of the club's best performances under Klopp coming on the road, particularly in their early days. In November and December Liverpool convincingly beat Chelsea, Manchester City and Southampton in successive domestic away games, but since that 6-1 thrashing of the Saints they have failed to win back-to-back games on the road. They have the chance to end that run tonight, but they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last five away games in all competitions since the first leg of the round of 32 in this competition.

TEAM NEWS! The teams are in for both sides, and there are a couple of interesting calls from the visitors in particular...

VILLARREAL STARTING XI: Asenjo; Mario, Bailly, Ruiz, Costa; Dos Santos, Pina, Bruno, Suárez; Soldado, Bakambu
Subs: Musacchio, Samu, Areola, Trigueros, Samu Castillejo, Adrian, Rukavina

LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Mignolet; Clyne, Toure, Lovren, Moreno; Lucas, Allen, Milner, Lallana, Coutinho; Firmino
Subs: Ward, Benteke, Sturridge, Skrtel, Ibe, Smith, Chirivella

What can we make of those two teams, then? Well the biggest news from the Liverpool camp is that Daniel Sturridge is once again left on the bench for a big Liverpool game, this time in favour of Firmino starting in a central striking role. The England man can't be particularly happy with that having scored in each of his last three games and missing out for both legs against Borussia Dortmund as well as the Merseyside derby against Everton. He seems to be down the pecking order when it comes to these high-profile matches and that is the case again tonight.

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Another player who began the season as a first choice but now finds himself a few rungs down is Martin Skrtel, who also has to settle for a place on the bench tonight. There is a centre-back slot open at Liverpool at the moment after Mamadou Sakho was banned for 30 days provisionally having failed a drugs test, but Klopp has preferred Kolo Toure to fill that gap, just as he did at the weekend. He partners Dejan Lovren, the hero from the last round, at the heart of the defence, while Clyne returns on the right after being rested against Newcastle.

In goal, Simon Mignolet maintains his record of having played every minute in Liverpool's campaign so far, while further forward in midfield there are starts for Lucas Leiva and Joe Allen, neither of whom started in the second leg of the win over Dortmund in the last round. Allen was included against Newcastle at the weekend, though, as was James Milner, who will once again captain the side tonight in the absence of the injured Jordan Henderson. In all, Klopp has made just three changes from Saturday's game, and also three from their last Europa League outing.

Adam Lallana has established himself as a regular start under Klopp now and he is again included today, providing the attacking flair alongside Coutinho and Firmino. The Brazilian duo have been in fine form of late, particularly in front of goal, and their guile will be important in breaking down the stubborn Villarreal defence. Firmino's inclusion is perhaps better from a counter-attacking perspective than Sturridge would have been, but should Klopp feel as though he needs a change of style altogether then he has Christian Benteke back on the bench. The Belgian hasn't played since March 20, when Liverpool were beaten by Southampton, due to a knee injury.

As for Villarreal, their main goal threat comes from Cedric Bakambu, who has been in particularly good form in the Europa League knockout stages. He has scored braces in three of his last four games in this competition, giving him six in the knockout rounds alone and nine for the season in Europe. Only Athletic Bilbao's Aritz Aduriz has more, and considering Liverpool's top scorer in this competition has just two goals, it is a hugely impressive total for the striker, who is in his first season with the club. His tally for all competitions now stands at 22 goals.

Alongside him up front is a striker that Liverpool fans will recognise in Roberto Soldado, with the Spaniard once being a target for the Reds before his move to Tottenham Hotspur. It is fair to say he failed to live up to his price tag in England, and he will have particularly bad memories of facing Liverpool. His three games against them resulted in 5-0, 4-0 and 3-2 defeats. He hasn't exactly found his scoring boots at Villarreal either, with only eight goals in 41 appearances this season.

Victor Ruiz is the only outfield player to have played every minute in this season's competition, and one of only two - alongside Mignolet - to boast the accolade. He once again starts at the heart of the defence this evening alongside Bailly, whose performances this season have seen him linked to the likes of Barcelona at the end of the campaign. There is only one change at the back from the team that drew 0-0 with Sociedad at the weekend, with Costa replacing Rukavina on the left side of the defence.

Dos Santos is the only other change from that draw at the weekend as he replaces Samu Castillejo, who incidentally is the most fouled player in this season's competition. Liverpool will be wise to keep a close eye on Denis Suarez in midfield too, with the Villarreal man boasting more assists than any other remaining in the competition (five). For the entire tournament he is joint top of the assist charts, including players whose clubs have been eliminated, so just needs one more to take the outright lead.

EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL MEMORIES: Liverpool came up against Barcelona yet again in the semi-finals of the 2000-01 UEFA Cup, and again they managed to progress to the final. This time it was a solitary Gary McAllister penalty that made the difference at Anfield, with the Camp Nou leg ending goalless. Liverpool went on to lift the trophy again that year, beating Deportivo Alaves 5-4 in one of the most memorable European finals ever.

Liverpool's form in this season's Europa League has not always exactly been encouraging, but they remain unbeaten in the competition from start to finish heading into tonight's match. They are the only side who can boast that record, and indeed are the only team in Europa League history to have gone 12 games unbeaten from the group stages in a single season of the competition. Atletico Madrid did go 15 matches without defeat over two editions, but Liverpool's record is the best for a single campaign.

Villarreal would equal that record with a victory tonight, though, and Liverpool would be happy enough to come away with a draw from El Madrigal. They have actually drawn more games than they have won in the competition so far, with seven compared to five victories, but it certainly wouldn't be a bad result to take back to Anfield - just as it wasn't when they held Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion in the last round. Indeed, five of their six away games in this season's competition have ended all square, including each of their last four, with their only victory coming against Rubin Kazan in the group stages.

Those group stages saw Liverpool edge through in what was a rather dreary pool stage for them. They only won two of their six games, drawing the remaining four and finishing just one point above Sion. Perhaps the best example of the standard shown in that group is that Liverpool and Sion were the two lowest scorers to qualify from any of the groups, although Liverpool have since found their shooting boots. It didn't happen immediately, and a 1-0 aggregate victory over Augsburg wouldn't have exactly sent out a warning shot to the rest of Europe, but they been steadily improving since.

Klopp's side were drawn against domestic rivals Manchester United for the first time ever in Europe in the last 16, and they picked up a healthy two-goal lead in the first leg to take control of the tie. They left Anfield thinking that it could have been more, but in the end it proved to be enough as a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford saw them through. The real drama arrived in the quarter-finals when Klopp was drawn against his former club, and the tournament favourites, Borussia Dortmund. A 1-1 away draw in the first leg was a good result for Liverpool, but they looked to be dead and buried when they feel two goals down within 10 minutes at Anfield. It later went to 3-1 to leave Liverpool once again needing three goals to win, but Coutinho and Sakho levelled things up on the night before Lovren sealed a memorable 5-4 aggregate victory on one of the great European nights at Anfield.

EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL MEMORIES: Liverpool last reached this stage of the competition in 2009-10, when they were drawn against another Spanish team in the form of Atletico Madrid. The La Liga outfit were not quite the force that has one foot in the Champions League final today, but they were certainly building towards that and ended up dumping Liverpool out of the competition. The Reds put up a good fight to draw 2-2 on aggregate, but in the end they were eliminated on away goals.

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These two sides have never played each other in a European fixture before, with their only previous meeting of any kind coming in a pre-season friendly here in 2008. That game ended in a goalless draw and, while Liverpool would probably be content with that result from tonight's match, I'm sure the vast majority of us are hoping for a goal or two here.

Villarreal may never have faced Liverpool competitively before, but their record against English opposition in general is not good. They started off well enough by winning each of their first three games against Premier League sides, but they are since winless in their last 10, with six draws and four defeats. Only one of those losses have come here at the El Madrigal, though, with Villarreal's home record standing at two wins, four draws and that solitary defeat from seven games.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have lost three of their last four matches against Spanish opposition, and have failed to even score in three of their last six Europa League games against La Liga teams. Their record in Spain is actually very good, though, with seven wins and just four defeats from 15 visits. Indeed, that is a better record than they can boast at home to Spanish teams, where they have won four, drawn six and lost five matches. Overall they have 13 wins and nine defeats from 32 meetings with Spanish opposition, which includes victories in two finals on neutral territory, beating Real Madrid to win the 1981 European Cup and then Alaves in the 2001 UEFA Cup final.

Klopp himself does not have a particularly good record on Spanish soil having failed to win on any of his previous five visits, although three of those have ended as draws, which he would be fairly content with tonight. Overall, from his days with Mainz and Dortmund, Klopp has faced Spanish opposition on 11 occasions, winning four, drawing three and losing four of those games.

PREDICTION: We're just five minutes away from kickoff at El Madrigal now, which means that it is time for a prediction! This is a very tough one to call considering Liverpool's inconsistent away record and Villarreal's impressive home form, particularly in this competition. The visitors seem to be able to lift themselves to the big occasion, though, and I can see them coming away from tonight's first leg with a 1-1 draw.

This will be Liverpool's fourth European semi-final against Spanish opposition, and we have already had a look at the past three. They have all come in this competition, with wins over Barcelona in their last two but defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid in their most recent one.

The Villarreal fans are holding up a banner in tribute to the 96 fans who lost their lives in the Hillsborough tragedy, which is a great touch from the home supporters.

KICKOFF: Here we go then! Villarreal get us underway at El Madrigal for the first leg of this Europa League semi-final!

Villarreal make their first quick break forward as Bakambu drives forward. He gives it to Dos Santos, but Moreno gets back to make a challenge that sees the ball fly into the arms of Mignolet.

The hosts come down the left flank this time as Denis Suarez gets to the byline, but his cross is just over the head of Bakambu at the near post.

CHANCE! Big chance for Liverpool to take the lead! Lallana gets down the right and sends a low cross into the box that finds its way to Allen in a great position. He strides on to the ball, but fires his effort straight at the keeper when he should have done better.

UPDATE: There is another semi-final taking place tonight, and Sevilla have already taken the lead in that match through Vitolo. Sevilla are bidding to win the trophy for the third year in a row, and they have made a fine start against Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine.

Liverpool may not get too many clear chances against this Villarreal defence, so that Allen miss could prove costly in the end. It probably fell to the wrong player, but even so he would have expected to do better.

CLOSE! Villarreal win a free kick inside the Liverpool half and Bruno takes it quickly to dink it over the top for Soldado. He controls it well on the right side of the area, but can only send his half-volley narrowly wide of the far post.

Villarreal will have been encouraged by their start to this match. They are getting some joy in the final third and seeing plenty of the ball inside the Liverpool half. They certainly have the players to hurt the visitors here.

SHOT! Lucas looks to get an unlikely name on the scoresheet as a cross is only cleared as far as the Brazilian, and he can't resist having a crack. He actually hits it quite well, but it swerves wide of the target.

SHOT! Another long-range effort from Liverpool, but this time it flies wide of the other goal as Lallana slices a first-time strike off target after the ball had broken to him.

Liverpool enjoy a really good spell of pressure without getting any shots away, before a Coutinho volley on the turn is blocked and almost results in a counter-attack for Villarreal.

It's been an even opening 20 minutes here, with both sides creating one good chance apiece and seeing a decent amount of the ball. Both managers will be feeling pretty content with things right now.

CHANCE! Chance for Villarreal to take the lead as the ball breaks to Bakambu in the box and he back-heels it to Soldado. Lucas gets a foot in which only diverts the ball to Dos Santos, who knocks it back to Pina instead of going for goal himself. Pina does hit it, but Mignolet gets down well to make the save.

UPDATE: Shakhtar Donetsk have pulled a goal back against Sevilla to level things up at 1-1. Marlos got the goal in Donetsk.

Liverpool are lacking a focal point at the moment, which isn't necessarily suggesting they need a target man like Benteke, but more that Firmino needs to play more as a striker. He is popping up all over the place at the moment.

Villarreal have a problem here, with Dos Santos going down off the ball a few seconds after a collision with Moreno. It could be a dead leg or a twisted ankle, but he looks in some pain.

It looks as though it was just an impact injury as Dos Santos jogs back on after a short amount of treatment and looks like he will be fine to continue. Meanwhile Coutinho manages to engineer a yard of space to go for goal from range, but he fires it well over the crossbar.

Possession is pretty even here, and both sides have had spells on top in the match right now. Liverpool are looking fairly comfortable, but so are Villarreal - these look like two very evenly-matched sides.

Villarreal make another quick break forward, which is when they have looked most dangerous this evening, but this time Dos Santos puts too much on his cross and another attack comes to nothing.

UPDATE: Shakhtar have now turned things around against Sevilla, making it 2-1 on the night in Ukraine! That tie is developing into a very interesting one indeed.

Villarreal come sweeping forward down the right flank again as Mario gets in behind Moreno, but his low cross is brilliantly cut out by Toure. Mario is quick to pounce on the loose ball again, but his second effort is deflected over the top.

Toure has been very solid for Liverpool so far tonight - he certainly looks like a different player to the one who was a bit of a liability at times earlier in his career at the club. He and Lovren have kept Bakambu quiet so far.

SHOT! Liverpool are largely being limited to shots from outside the box now, and Coutinho has another here, only to fire it high and wide from 20 yards.

CLOSE! Soldado comes close again for the home side as Bruno feeds a pass in to the striker, who spins into shooting space before curling an effort just a yard or so past the target. That was not far away at all.

There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.

The referee brings an end to the first half at El Madrigal, and it is all square at the break following a tight and cagey opening 45 minutes here. Both sides will be fairly content with their respective performances so far, but as things stand this would certainly be a better result for Liverpool than it would for Villarreal heading back to Anfield next week.

Liverpool had the first clear chance of the evening after just five minutes, and it is one that Joe Allen should have taken. There was an element of luck about it as Lallana's low cross deflected into the path of his fellow midfielder, but Allen's strike was straight at the keeper when he should have done better. It was a safe finish from Allen, simply getting it on target, but he should have given them a crucial away goal.

That is the one and only clear chance that Liverpool have created, with Villarreal coming closer over the remainder of the half. Roberto Soldado, who perhaps has a point to prove following his failed spell in England, has threatened on a couple occasions, the first of which came in the 11th minute when Bruno's quick free kick almost caught Liverpool out. Soldado latched on to the ball over the top, but his half-volley flashed across the face of goal and just wide of the far post.

Soldado also came close at the end of the half when he again linked up with Bruno, this time collected the midfielder's pass around 25 yards from goal. He was given a yard of space by the Liverpool defenders which allowed him to turn, before curling an effort towards goal that flew narrowly wide of the target with Mignolet worried. The Liverpool keeper has only been forced into one save so far, though, and that was to deny Pina's low curling effort from just outside the area after Dos Santos had teed his teammate up.

Liverpool have largely been limited to long-range shots so far, with the exception of that early chance for Joe Allen. Philippe Coutinho has had a couple of cracks from outside the area that have failed to test Sergio Asenjo in the Villarreal goal, while Lucas and Lallana have also lashed powerful strikes off target. The Reds have been comfortable on the whole, though, and may feel that they have a chance to nick a crucial away goal in the second half.

KICKOFF: Liverpool get us back underway for the second half at El Madrigal, and Jurgen Klopp has made an interesting change at the break with Jordon Ibe replacing Coutinho, who must have picked up an injury in that first half.

OFF THE POST! This has been a quick start to the second half from Villarreal! They win an early corner, from which Bakambu finds space at the near post and flicks a header goalwards. Mignolet looks to have it covered anyway, but it hits the outside of the post on its way behind.

The hosts have certainly made the brighter start to this second half, and it looks at those Marcelino has told his team to come out of the blocks flying here. A more open game might suit Liverpool as well, though.

Liverpool have responded well to that quick start from Villarreal and are settling into the half themselves now. Still a very even contest between these two teams.

Milner exchanges passes with Ibe before getting the ball back and working a yard of space to shoot, but his eventual effort is blocked and skews behind for a corner.

That corner is played short and then back to Moreno, who drives a low ball into the box. Lovren tries to flick it goalwards, but it deflects off a yellow shirt and loops harmlessly into the arms of the keeper.

The news on Coutinho is good for Liverpool fans worrying that he may have picked up an injury. It isn't a tactical switch from Klopp, but the Brazilian is feeling unwell and so has been taken off.

Villarreal get forward into the Liverpool box here but Mario overhits his eventual cross and it goes behind to safety.

Clyne tries to swing a low ball into the box during a good spell for Liverpool in the Villarreal half, but it is well dealt with by the home defence.

Another good spell for Liverpool, but once again it comes to nothing as Villarreal win a goal kick from it. The hosts are very hard to break down tonight.

YELLOW CARD! Good refereeing here from Damir Skomina as he lets play carry on, but then brings it back for an earlier foul by Costa on Clyne, showing the Villarreal man the first card of the evening.

Liverpool are starting to see more and more of the ball deep inside the Villarreal half here. The defence have protected Sergio Asenjo very well, though.

Costa needs some treatment here having drawn blood from his month after a collision from Lovren. The replay shows that the Villarreal man simply sprinted into the elbow of Lovren, though, with the Liverpool defender now even looking. Costa will be fine to continue.

OFF THE POST! Liverpool are the width of the post away from taking the lead here! Milner finds a good pass to Firmino inside the box, whose touch allows him to turn immediately before drilling a low shot towards the near post. Asenjo gets down very well, though, and tips the ball onto the post.

There is a skirmish between the two managers on the touchline now, with both unhappy about a challenge from Lucas on Pina. The referee gave the foul, which looked to be the wrong decision, and the two managers eventually hug and make up with eventually forgiven and forgotten.

Toure and Soldado both go into a 50-50 challenge with studs up, and it is a risky one from Toure especially in Europe. Toure does win the ball, but challenges like that always ask the question. The referee deals with it well, though, and leaves his cards in his pocket.

Soldado is growing increasingly frustrated here, and he is lucky not to be in the book himself for a late challenge on Lucas.

VILLARREAL SUB: The hosts make their first change of the night as Dos Santos departs to be replaced by Samu Castillejo.

Almost chances for Liverpool as Firmino flicks the ball on nicely for Lallana, who in turn works it out right for the overlapping Clyne. His low ball is a tester that Bailly deals with well, while moments later the ball drops to Lallana in the area but he can't get a shot away.

VILLARREAL SUB: Another change for the hosts here as Adrian Lopez replaces Soldado.

Great run from Lallana as he sprints through on goal from deep to latch on to a ball over the top. He finds himself clean through, but the linesman's flag is up, although the replay shows that it is the wrong decision. That is a big, big call as Lallana would have had a great chance had the flag stayed down.

VILLARREAL SUB: The hosts are forced into their third and final change, and it is a blow for them as Bailly limps off with a hamstring injury that could keep him out of the return leg. Mateo Musacchio comes on in his place.

Just 12 minutes remaining in this match now, and it has been a cagey affair throughout - about as far from the Dortmund second leg as you can get. Still, this is a decent result for Liverpool to take back to Anfield.

Allen concedes a free kick in a dangerous position for a cross, but Suarez puts too much on his delivery and it is easy for Mignolet to collect. Waste of a good platform for the hosts there.

UPDATE: Big goal in the night's other semi-final as Kevin Gameiro levels things up on the night from the penalty spot! It is two away goals for Sevilla against Shakhtar Donetsk now.

Liverpool look pretty content with settling for a goalless draw here, and the fact that Klopp is yet to call upon Sturridge or Benteke suggests that he will take this result too. The hosts are seeing most of the ball right now, but it is all coming in front of the Villarreal defence.

Liverpool come forward again and this time make it all the way to the byline with Ibe on the left. He stands a cross up to the back post where Clyne is waiting, but he can't steer his header anywhere near the target.

CHANCE! Villarreal have their big chance, but Mignolet makes a magnificent save! Bakambu has been kept so quiet tonight, but he suddenly gets in behind the defence and tries to guide one into the bottom corner. He couldn't have done too much more in fairness, but Mignolet is at full stretch to turn it wide.

CHANCE! Big chance for Liverpool at the other end now! Suarez makes a mess of a clearance just inside the Liverpool half, which allows Moreno to nick the ball and race clean through on goal from the halfway line. Suarez tracks him all the way back and puts just enough pressure on Moreno as he blazes it over the bar.

LIVERPOOL SUB: Liverpool make their second change of the evening, and it is a return to action for Christian Benteke as he replaces Firmino.

There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.

Villarreal get the winner right at the death! It is a lightning break from the hosts as a long ball over the top finds Moreno out of position and Suarez in behind. His first touch is perfect to take him through on goal, and then he is so unselfish to square it to Lopez, who is left with a simple finish.

It is a gutting blow for Liverpool as they fall to a late, late defeat at the hands of Villarreal having kept their hosts quiet for so long. It looked like being a textbook away performance from the visitors, but that winner from Adrian Lopez, set up by Suarez, changes the complexion of the tie heading into next week's second leg.

That is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Villarreal gain the advantage at the halfway stage of their Europa League semi-final clash with Liverpool courtesy of a late, late goal. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction. From me, though, it is adios from Spain.