By OkayGoal
Liverpool host Villarreal at Anfield on Tuesday, with Andoni Iraola facing Iñigo Pérez, the former Rayo Vallecano assistant who took over that job when Iraola left for Bournemouth.
Pérez was unable to move to England with Iraola because of work-permit issues and instead became Rayo’s head coach in 2024, before joining Villarreal in June. Liverpool have won both of their Champions League matches under Iraola, beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 and winning 6-3 at LASK, and sit fifth in the league phase with six points. Villarreal lost to Borussia Dortmund on matchday one, beat Napoli 3-1 last week and are 14th with three points.
Liverpool have won two of their five matches at Anfield this season, drawing two and losing one, while Villarreal have won only one of their six away matches. The sides have met four times, with Liverpool winning three, including both legs of the 2021-22 Champions League semi-final.
Liverpool vs Villarreal – Match preview and team news
- Date: Tuesday, 20 October 2026
- Kick-off: 20:00 BST
- Venue: Anfield
- Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL), VAR Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)
- Last meeting: Villarreal 2-3 Liverpool, 3 May 2022, Champions League (semi-final, second leg)
Team news
Liverpool
Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong are out after both went off with hamstring problems in the win at Brentford. Iraola said Szoboszlai’s problem is “not a new one” and has not worsened, but that Liverpool will have to be patient, and that it will be difficult to get Frimpong back before the November international break. Ryan Gravenberch is available after serving his one-match domestic ban, and Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo are fit. Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Giovanni Leoni (anterior cruciate ligament) and Conor Bradley (knee) remain out, and Iraola has hinted that some players are not fresh enough to start again.
Villarreal
Nicolas Pépé is out after an eye operation and is not expected back until the end of October, and Buchanan was injured during the international break. Georges Mikautadze scored against Napoli and is certain to start. He is expected to be supported in midfield by Pape Gueye and Santi Comesana.
Form
Liverpool
Liverpool beat Atletico 2-1 on matchday one and won 6-3 at LASK on Wednesday, leading 4-0 by the 51st minute. They then won 2-1 at Brentford on Saturday, with Isak scoring the winner, to move up to fifth in the Premier League on 12 points. They have won six of their last eight matches in all competitions, with the only defeat coming against Manchester City after Gravenberch’s red card. Iraola has said he knows Villarreal well and that his side will adapt to the circumstances.
Villarreal
Villarreal started the season winless in their first six games, losing four, but have since won four and lost one. They beat Napoli 3-1 at home on matchday two, then drew 0-0 with Elche in La Liga on Saturday, which left them 12th with nine points from nine games. Pérez said before the Elche game that he was focused on that match and not on Liverpool. Their away form is poor, with one win in six.
Predicted lineups
Liverpool predicted XI: Alisson; Gomez, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Barcola, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak
Villarreal predicted XI: Junior; Mourino, Navarro, Veiga, Romero; Saliba, Comesana, Gueye, Moleiro; Moreno, Mikautadze
How to watch Liverpool vs Villarreal?
The match will be streamed live in the United Kingdom on Amazon Prime Video. It is not being broadcast live on UK television.
Read more – Alexander Isak admits Liverpool ‘still have lots to improve’ after beating Brentford
See also – Iraola delivers double Liverpool injury update following Brentford win