Liverpool vs Villarreal Lineups: Barcola, Wirtz, and Isak Benched

Liverpool host Villarreal at Anfield in the third round of the Champions League league phase. The Merseysiders boast a flawless record so far following victories over Atletico Madrid and LASK. The "Yellow Submarine" kicked off their campaign with a defeat to Borussia Dortmund before bouncing back with a win against Napoli.

Surprisingly, Liverpool have been far from dominant on home soil this season, recording just two wins, two draws, and one defeat across their five matches at Anfield.

Villarreal travel to England on the back of a goalless draw against Elche in La Liga—a result that leaves them 12th in the standings with nine points from a possible 27. Meanwhile, Liverpool sit fifth in the Premier League after staging a second-half comeback to beat Brentford 2-1 over the weekend.

Villarreal are managed by Inigo Perez, who is a former teammate, close friend, and ex-assistant to Andoni Iraola.

The Reds have the upper hand in previous meetings, claiming three wins and suffering one defeat across four clashes against the Spanish outfit.

Andoni Iraola has made six changes to the side that featured on Saturday. Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, and Milos Kerkez drop to the bench, Dominik Szoboszlai is sidelined through injury, and Victor Munoz is omitted from the matchday squad. Kostas Tsimikas, Trey Nyoni, Ryan Gravenberch, Rio Ngumoha, Lewis Koumas, and Cody Gakpo all come into the starting lineup, with Gakpo making his first appearance since the international break.

Inigo Perez has made seven alterations to his starting XI, drafting in Tajon Buchanan, Santiago Mourino, Pau Navarro, Renato Veiga, Pape Gueye, Nathan Saliba, and Georges Mikautadze.