Liverpool v Villarreal kicks off at 21:00 South African time on Tuesday 20 October 2026 at Anfield. Liverpool have six points from two games after beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 and winning 6-3 at LASK tonight. Villarreal have three, after losing 3-2 in Dortmund and beating Napoli 3-1. Every one of the four Champions League games these two have played this season has had goals at both ends, and they have averaged more than five goals a game between them. We have not published a pick yet, because bookmakers have not priced the game. It will be added here and on the predictions board at least an hour before kick-off, and graded in public.
The fixture, double verified
UEFA’s official league phase list and the SportRadar data feed agree on date, kick-off and venue. UEFA lists the game at 21:00 Central European time on Tuesday 20 October, which is 19:00 UTC and 21:00 in South Africa while Europe is on summer time.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Competition | UEFA Champions League, league phase, matchday 3 |
| Date | Tuesday 20 October 2026 |
| Kick-off | 21:00 SAST, 20:00 UK, 19:00 UTC |
| Venue | Anfield, Liverpool |
| Our pick | Not yet published, waiting for a bookmaker price |
Four games, 21 goals: the original dataset
We put every Champions League game both clubs have played this season in one table and counted the goals. Matchday 1 and Villarreal’s matchday 2 result are from UEFA’s results page and the SportRadar feed. Liverpool’s win at LASK was played this evening and is taken from the SportRadar feed’s full-time record.
| Game | Result | Total goals | Both teams scored | Our club’s goals for and against |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool v Atletico Madrid, 9 Sep | 2-1 | 3 | Yes | Liverpool 2 for, 1 against |
| LASK v Liverpool, 14 Oct | 3-6 | 9 | Yes | Liverpool 6 for, 3 against |
| Borussia Dortmund v Villarreal, 8 Sep | 3-2 | 5 | Yes | Villarreal 2 for, 3 against |
| Villarreal v Napoli, 13 Oct | 3-1 | 4 | Yes | Villarreal 3 for, 1 against |
| Four games | 21, or 5.25 a game | 4 of 4 | Liverpool 8-4, Villarreal 5-4 |
Two notes of caution before anyone builds a bet on that table. Four games is a tiny sample, and one of them, the 6-3 in Linz, supplies nine of the 21 goals on its own. Take it out and the other three average exactly four. Liverpool were also 6-1 up after 72 minutes at LASK and conceded twice late, which says as much about a game that was already won as it does about their defence.
Head to head: four meetings, all semi-finals
The clubs have only met in two European semi-finals, the 2016 Europa League and the 2022 Champions League.
| Date | Competition | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Apr 2016 | Europa League semi-final, first leg | Villarreal 1-0 Liverpool | Villarreal |
| 5 May 2016 | Europa League semi-final, second leg | Liverpool 3-0 Villarreal | Liverpool |
| 27 Apr 2022 | Champions League semi-final, first leg | Liverpool 2-0 Villarreal | Liverpool |
| 3 May 2022 | Champions League semi-final, second leg | Villarreal 2-3 Liverpool | Liverpool |
| Four meetings | Goals: Liverpool 8, Villarreal 3 | Liverpool 3, Villarreal 1 |
At Anfield the record is two games, two Liverpool wins, five goals scored and none conceded. Liverpool went through both ties. As with any head to head this old, the squads have almost nothing in common with the ones that will play on Tuesday, so it is context rather than evidence.
Domestic form
Liverpool are on 9 points from six Premier League games, with two wins, three draws and one defeat. That defeat was 3-0 at home to Manchester City on 11 October, a game we picked City to win at 51 percent. The three draws matter here: a side that has drawn half its league games is the reason to be careful about any Liverpool price at home.
Villarreal lost 1-0 at Real Madrid in La Liga on the weekend before matchday 2, then beat Napoli. We picked Villarreal at 44 percent for the Napoli game, a close call, and it won.
Our record on these two clubs this season
The two picks above are the ones that touch this tie: Manchester City to win at Anfield, which won, and Villarreal against Napoli, which won. Our overall graded record is 119 wins from 203 graded picks (59%), with the strong band, calls of 70 percent and above, at 27W-5L (84%) and the close band, under 55 percent, at 39W-49L (44%). Every graded pick is on the results board.
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Predictions on this site are published for information only and are not betting advice. No pick is guaranteed, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes. 18+ only. Betting involves risk and you can lose money, so never stake more than you can afford to lose. Free and confidential help is available from the South African National Responsible Gambling Programme on 0800 006 008, 24 hours a day.