Villarreal in search of their dream final

Starting this Thursday, Villarreal CF begin their bid to make history and go through to the Europa League final for the first time. Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool FC are the sole obstacle remaining in their path towards what would be a dream final for the players and fans of the Yellow Submarine.

The Spanish side already played in the semi-finals of the tournament in the 2003/04 season, when they were knocked out by the Valencia CF side who went on to lift the trophy. Seven seasons on, Villarreal once again made it through to the penultimate round, but were beaten by FC Porto. Now, on their third attempt, Marcelino Garcia Toral's men are hoping that a different fate awaits them.

The manager will have all of his players available with the exception of the injured Leo Baptistao and believes that his team are perfectly poised to achieve the historic feat. "We're under no pressure. I'm extremely satisfied with this squad and grateful to them for being able to play this semi-final. We're hopeful and convinced that we can knock out Liverpool, but we'll try to enjoy it at the same time. We're a privileged group to be able to play this semi-final. We have the chance to make history at this club," said the coach.

Out on the field of play, Denis Suarez will surely capture a significant share of the attention. The Galician player hopes to help his side round off a sensational season by reaching their first big European final. "Villarreal deserve to reach a final. Everyone is really excited. This club has come close on several occasions, but we couldn't manage it in the end, so we're really fired up about doing it this time," he remarked.

Liverpool, meanwhile, will be without the injured Divock Origi, Emre Can, Jordan Henderson and Christian Benteke , but head to Castellon in high spirits after their spectacular comeback against Borussia Dortmund in the previous round, and with players such as Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino on fine form.