Liverpool vs Villarreal Prediction & Preview - Champions League
Liverpool scored six and shipped three away to LASK on 14 October, and that 6-3 is the scoreline that tells you most about how they arrive for Villarreal at Anfield on Tuesday 20 October 2026. Kick-off in the UEFA Champions League is 20:00 BST. A Liverpool side capable of putting six past anyone is also a Liverpool side that gave up three in the same evening, and Villarreal have scored 12 goals in their last six matches. Our prediction and the full form picture are below, and you can make your own call on the Liverpool vs Villarreal match page.
- Fixture: Liverpool FC v Villarreal
- Competition: UEFA Champions League
- Date: Tuesday 20 October 2026
- Kick-off: 20:00 BST
- Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
What the 6-3 at LASK showed about Liverpool
Liverpool's 6-3 win away to LASK, 6 days before this fixture, showed an attack that no longer needs chances to be clean and a defence that stopped caring once the game was won. Six goals away in the Champions League is not an accident. Three conceded in the same match, against that opposition, is not either.
It was also a reaction. Liverpool had lost 0-3 at home to Manchester City three days earlier.
The Manchester City defeat is the other half of it
Liverpool lost 0-3 at home to Manchester City on 11 October, 9 days before they face Villarreal, and it remains the only defeat in their last six matches. In that run they have won 4, drawn 1 and lost 1 for 13 points, scoring 12 and conceding 8.
At Anfield across those six they beat Atlético Madrid 2-1 in the Champions League, beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 in the EFL Cup, drew 0-0 with Fulham and were beaten by City. That is not the record of a side nobody can touch at home. The 1-0 win away to Bournemouth on 20 September sits in there too, which is a reminder that the goals have not always come in sixes.
Villarreal's form splits cleanly in two
Villarreal have won 3 and lost 3 of their last six, with no draws, 9 points on the board, 12 scored and 9 conceded. The pattern inside that is worth more than the totals. All three wins finished 3-1: Napoli at home on 13 October, Levante UD at home on 20 September, Málaga CF away on 17 September. All three defeats went by a single goal: 0-1 away to Real Madrid on 10 October, 1-2 at home to Real Betis on 14 September, 2-3 away to Borussia Dortmund on 8 September.
So Iñigo Pérez's side, 7 days after beating SSC Napoli 3-1, are a team that either controls a match or loses it narrowly. The Dortmund game is the closest thing here to a template: Villarreal went to Germany, scored twice and came home beaten 2-3.
Liverpool FC team news
Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo all missed Liverpool's defeat to Manchester City and the trip to LASK, and manager Andoni Iraola would not commit to any of them being fit for Villarreal, saying they were "not far" but that he was taking it day to day, per Sports Mole. Szoboszlai's problem is a hamstring. Liverpool scored six without the three of them, which complicates the question rather than answering it.
Villarreal team news
Villarreal are without Tajon Buchanan, who suffered a muscular injury to the biceps femoris of his right leg on international duty with Canada, as reported by Yahoo Sports on 9 October 2026. Pérez took charge at the Estadio de la Cerámica on a three-year deal in June 2026, confirmed by the club.
Liverpool FC vs Villarreal prediction
Our prediction is that Liverpool beat Villarreal in a high-scoring Champions League tie at Anfield on 20 October 2026, with the Spanish side scoring. Liverpool have conceded 8 in six matches and let three go at LASK in a game they won comfortably, so the clean sheet is the least likely part of this. Villarreal's three wins all came by 3-1 and their three defeats all by one goal, which is a side that stays in games rather than collapsing. Liverpool's attack is the difference, not their back four.
Our prediction: Liverpool FC 3-2 Villarreal
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