In just a time span of less than one year, 7th placed team on the LaLiga table, Villarreal have beaten Manchester United, Juventus and Bayern Munich. They won the Europa League title of last season's campaign following a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Manchester United in the final match. The victory earned Villarreal the final spot in this season's UCL and they have surely made the most out of it as they have had a good run in the campaign eliminating Juventus in the round of 16 before subsequently knocking out Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. 

Unai Emery, has been the man at the center of all these successes. He is the man behind the back to back shocks that these European football superpowers have been receiving. Villarreal are a club with a population of only 51,000 people, half of the seating capacity of Barcelona's iconic stadium, the Camp Nou. If it turns out that Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are the ones that Villarreal will face in the semis, then the Reds should be very wary of underestimating the “yellow submarine” that has already sunk two European powerhouses. Unai Emery has turned Villarreal into a team that punches way above their weight. 

Emery only lasted for two seasons as Arsenal coach after the exit of Arsene Wenger but has proven himself to be a coach of European pedigree by winning four Europa Leagues all with Spanish teams, four with Sevilla and one with Villarreal. The elephant question in the room is, can he add a Champions League title to his name this season? The odds are set against his team but time and again Villarreal have proven to us that it is a risky business betting against them no matter what kind of formidable force they are facing.