"Juventus was also a favorite against us," Villarreal striker Gerard Moreno mentioned last night ahead of his first quarter-final match against Bayern Munich.
The Spaniards want to continue their surprising journey in the Champions League with a semi-final ticket for the second time in the club's history, but there is a big difference between the faltering old lady and the champions and the Bundesliga leader who is in excellent shape.
Bayern will come into the game after defeating Red Bull Salzburg 1: 7 in the quarter-finals and after a 1: 4 victory over Freiburg, which gave them a nine-point gap at the top of the Bundesliga.
Although the latest victory is in the hands of the German court after Freiburg filed a formal complaint that Bayern played for 17 seconds in 12 games, it is not at all certain that the Bavarians will be punished with a loss.
There is a possibility of a fine or a light punishment only.
The Spaniards, for their part, failed to leverage the great victory over Yuba.
In the two games that have taken place since then, Onai Emery's team has lost to Cadiz and Bante from the bottom, but it will be said to its credit that both games took place outside their home.
At La Ceramica Stadium this season Villarreal have lost just three times in all competitions - to Barcelona and Manchester United among others - and tonight they will enjoy full occupancy after all tickets have been snatched in a short time.
Bayern players in concluding training, yesterday in Spain, Photo: EP
"We want to enjoy this experience," said team coach Onai Emery, who will have to make do without left-back Alberto Moreno.
"We have to take into account that an experienced rival with an excellent coach is waiting for us," Julian Naglesman said ahead of the meeting.
The German coach complimented the Europa League champion and especially her coach Emery, whom he described as "an excellent coach who has done great things over the years".
In terms of staff, Bayern will miss the injured Corinthian Tolisso against Freiburg, but will get Alfonso Davis back.
At the same time, Robert Lewandowski, who returned injured from the national team backlog and completed just 60 minutes at the weekend, may be fully fit.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us