Having reached their second final of the season, Liverpool's attention turns back to the Premier League on Sunday when they host Watford.
The top four is out of reach for the Reds, but they could still finish as high as fifth.
Liverpool
© AFPAlthough not as dramatic as in the quarter-finals against Borussia Dortmund, it was another impressive display from Jurgen Klopp's team in a home European tie under the lights on Thursday.
Villarreal's last-gasp winner in the first leg had put them in the driving seat, but Liverpool managed to prevent an away goal and scored three themselves to advance to the Europa League final, where they face the daunting task of another Spanish side in Sevilla – winners of the competition the last two years.
Should Liverpool win, they would go one better than their League Cup final defeat to Manchester City earlier this year and also secure a place in next season's Champions League.
Daniel Sturridge scored one of the Reds' three goals against the Yellow Submarine and the England forward has also been in good form in the league with six goals in eight appearances, a run that will surely see him included in Roy Hodgson's squad for Euro 2016.
Klopp's men are on a 10-match unbeaten run at Anfield, including four Europa League wins (W7, D3), but they have only won three of their seven most recent league games (W3, D2, L2).
The Reds have also dropped an unrivalled 19 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season and come into this match without a win in two Premier League games, last weekend suffering a 3-1 defeat at Swansea City for their first league defeat in six.
In that match, Liverpool fielded their youngest-ever starting lineup in the Premier League era with an average age of 23 years and 218 days.
With three games – Watford, Chelsea and West Brom – to play, Liverpool are eighth in the table, two points behind Southampton above them but with a game in hand. Should they fail to catch the Saints and lose the Europa League final then there might not be any European football at all next season.
Recent Premier League form: DWWWDL
Recent form (all competitions): WWDLLW
Watford
© Getty ImagesThe Hornets' target of staying up this season has been achieved and now the goal is to finish with a flourish having missed out on the FA Cup final by losing to Crystal Palace at Wembley last month.
Depending on other results, Watford, currently 12th, could finish as high as ninth and above last year's champions Chelsea by the end of the season, and Quique Flores's side are in decent league form.
They have won two of their last three games, taking as many points as they had from their previous nine league fixtures, last weekend scoring twice late on through captain Troy Deeney to snatch victory against relegated Aston Villa.
Even with three in that match, the Hornets have scored just 12 Premier League goals in 2016, a joint-league-low with the rockbottom Villans.
Away from home, they have only managed four goals in their last eight away matches in the league, while 16-goal leading scorer Odion Ighalo has gone 11 league matches without finding the net.
Their stuttering form overall in 2016 has led to questions over the future of manager Flores and the uncertainty is yet to be clarified, with the Spaniard's long-term future set to be discussed at the end of the campaign.
It looks like a tricky home stretch, with this trip to Anfield followed by matches against two teams fighting for their lives at the bottom – Norwich City and Sunderland.
Recent Premier League form: LLDWLW
Recent form (all competitions): LDWLLW
Team News
© AFPKlopp has admitted that he will make several changes to his side after Thursday's efforts against Villarreal.
Simon Mignolet should keep his place in goal, but elsewhere there will be a raft of changes and Christian Benteke should lead the line given that Sturridge has played nearly every minute of the Reds' last two matches over the past week.
Jordan Henderson, Divock Origi and Danny Ings will not feature but could all return from injuries before the end of the season.
Watford, meanwhile, could be unchanged after last weekend's victory over Villa.
Allan Nyom and Nathan Ake are pushing for recalls but Etienne Capoue remains sidelined with a knee injury.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Randall, Lucas, Skrtel, Moreno; Allen, Stewart; Ojo, Firmino, Ibe; Benteke
Watford possible starting lineup:
Gomes; Paredes, Britos, Cathcart, Anya; Abdi, Suarez, Watson, Jurado; Deeney; Ighalo
Head To Head
The reverse fixture in December was one of the highlights of Watford's season as they cruised to a 3-0 win – their biggest ever over Liverpool – to move within a point of the top four at Christmas.
However, Watford's only competitive win in 11 attempts against Liverpool at Anfield came in August 1999 when Tommy Mooney scored the only goal in a Premier League meeting.
There have been an unrivalled 63 goals in Premier League matches involving Liverpool in 2016, while Watford's fixtures have produced the fewest goals this year (34).
We say: Liverpool 2-2 Watford
It is all about May 18 in Basel for Liverpool now, so better-rested Watford will look to capitalise on that and could earn a point at Anfield.
