shoulders above the rest.Competing with a mermaid-themed routine, t

Liverpool travel to Spain to take on Villarreal in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday. With Villarreal currently fourth in La Liga, the trip to El Madrigal looks a daunting one for Jurgen Klopps side. But what can the Reds expect from their opponents?Sky Sports La Liga expert Terry Gibson gives us his verdict… Whats their style of play?Theyre not a team that scores a lot of goals, Gibson told Sky Sports. When they played Real Sociedad at the weekend, both teams have scored 42 goals this season. The difference is that Villarreal have conceded far fewer goals. Thats been their strength.In fact, Villarreal have the third best defence in La Liga with only the top two of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid bettering their efforts. At times, weve been able to compare them to Atletico in terms of their style of play, added Gibson. Theyre a lighter version of that. Villarreal welcome back some of their players in unusual fashion They keep it tight in a 4-4-2. Dont expect them to open up and try to blow Liverpool away in 20 minutes. Thats not their style. Theyre slow burners. Theyll tick over, ease themselves into a game through possession and rely on Cedric Bakambu to break down their defence.Is Bakambu the key man?The summer signing from Bursaspor has certainly made an impression in his first season with the club, scoring 12 goals in La Liga - more than twice as many as any other Villarreal player. But Gibson feels Bakambu needs more support from strike partner Roberto Soldado. Alll of Cedric Bakambus goals in La Liga for Villarreal so far this season Bakambu looks lively which is proving a saviour for them at the moment, he says. Soldado isnt scoring. We keep saying that hes creating and contributing to the partnership but he has to start scoring goals. He has to deliver against Liverpool over the two legs.So are they in form?Im concerned about their upcoming fixture against Liverpool, adds Gibson. I think they are running out of steam. There have been a couple of defeats prior to the game against Real Sociedad - and they werent great against Real Sociedad.Villarreal have had several good runs of form in La Liga, winning five in a row early in the campaign and then repeating that trick either side of Christmas. But Marcelinos men go into this tie having won only two of their last eight league games. Villarreal equal to Liverpool Villarreal manager Marcelino insists his side are a match for Liverpool and feel no pressure. Its an interesting one to call because theyve had that cushion between fourth and fifth and the teams below havent really put on the pressure, says Gibson. They havent really had to stretch themselves in La Liga. Can they turn the form back on? Itll be interesting.Who are the favourites?I would probably put Liverpool as favourites, particularly with the second leg at Anfield, adds Gibson. But Im a little unsure because I want to wait and see whether Villarreal could suddenly kick back into life and be the team they were six weeks ago. We know the importance of European football to a club like Villarreal as its a relatively small club despite their success over the past decade or so. Prior to that, there wasnt much history so a European semi-final against a legendary club like Liverpool is a huge occasion. Also See: Villarreal v Liverpool preview Villarreal equal to Liverpool Ken Dryden Jersey . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Artturi Lehkonen Jersey . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- No one can stop Russias mermaids.That much was clear as soon as Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina finished the synchronized swimming duet routine that would win them their fourth career Olympic gold medals on Tuesday, extending one of the longest winning streaks in Olympic history.Russia has not been beaten in an Olympic synchronized swimming event for 20 years, a streak almost certain to be maintained when Ishchenko and Romashina go for another gold Friday in the team event. Theyre so far ahead of the rest that the only people who seem capable of putting them under pressure are their own fans back home.Its psychologically very hard. We understand that everyones always expecting us to win, Ishchenko said. Theres very close attention on us, were always being watched attentively, so we need to be head and shoulders above the rest.Competing with a mermaid-themed routine, their total score after their final performance was such that second-placed China would have needed an almost impossibly perfect performance too challenge for gold.dddddddddddd In the end, Russia won with 194.991 points out of a possible 200. China had 192.3688 and Japan 188.0547.The Russians have a wealth of resources at their disposal, with advanced training facilities near Moscow and even the services of a composer when they couldnt find the right music for their Olympic routine.We wanted to bring it life because were often being called mermaids, Ishchenko said.Romashina added: It seems like we spend more of our time in the water than on land, so people ask us if were going to grow gills or something.At the ages of 30 and 26 respectively, Ishchenko and Romashina are much older than many of their opponents -- Ishchenko has already retired and come back once -- but they are already wondering about pushing on to next years world championships and yet more medals.We always have motivation to continue, we just have to find a reason, Romashina said. ' ' '