Liverpool To Face Villarreal In Europa League Semi-Finals

 

Liverpool have been drawn against Villarreal in the semi-finals of the Europa League. The Reds, who reached the last four with a dramatic victory over Borussia Dortmund on Thursday, will travel to Spain for the first leg on Thursday April 28 with the second leg at Anfield on Thursday May 5.  Villarreal, who are fourth in La Liga, booked their place in the last four with a 6-3 aggregate win over Sparta Prague.

Villarreal, who have never met Liverpool in a competitive fixture, are winless in their last 10 games against English opposition - drawing six and losing four. They did, however, beat Everton in the Champions League qualifying round in 2005 following a controversial decision by Italian referee Pierluigi Collina when he ruled out a Duncan Ferguson header that would have taken the tie into extra-time. 

The other semi-final will see holders Sevilla take on Shakhtar Donetsk with the first leg in Lviv in western Ukraine and the second leg in Spain.  Sevilla beat Shakhtar in the 2006/07 round of 16 on their way to lifting the UEFA Cup for the second season in a row. They are bidding for a hat-trick of successes this yea Shakhtar have lost their last three games against Spanish sides and have already lost in Spain this season, going down 4-0 to Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage.

The final is at St Jakob Park in Basel, Switzerland, on May 18, when the winners can claim a place in the Champions League for next season