The Reds look return to Champions League action after a six-week break.
Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool
| Wednesday, March 5th |
Champions League | Parc des Princes
8:00PM BST / 3:00PM ET
After putting the Premier League title out of plausible reach of an Arsenal side struggling for wins, Liverpool shift their focus to the Champions League, where a meeting with a young, dynamic PSG side is on the menu. The two sides have only faced off four times in official competition, with their last clash taking place in the CL group stage back in 2018, and both sides claiming a single-goal home win on that occasion.
It’s been an interesting year for Paris Saint-Germain since Kylian Mbappé left for Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer, and after a tricky start, Luis Enrique’s men seem to have found their feet, pummeling Brest 10-0 on aggregate in the playoff round of the competition, as they’ve extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to three months.
Young, explosive, and less reliant on individual stars than at any point in the past decade, Les Parisiens play an intense pressing style with pace to burn down both flanks, and they will offer a definitive challenge to a Reds side that hasn’t played a must-win game in the competition since before Christmas.
Enrique will be able to call on all of his players tomorrow night, including the ever-present centre-back pairing of Marquinhos and Willian Pacho, as well as top scorers Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.
Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Diaz, Jota, Salah
Following a week off, and with Southampton coming to town on the weekend, expect Arne Slot Liverpool to go as strong and predictable as possible, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson featuring in the back line ahead of Alisson Becker. Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley miss out through injuries.
In midfield, only Tyler Morton is unavailable, and the favoured trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai look set to start, with Curtis Jones the only potential wild card.
Up top, Cody Gakpo has been back in the team, but will be a game day decision following an unfortunate block in training yesterday, and as such, expect Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz to flank Diogo Jota in the attack.
What the Managers Said
Arne Slot: “Paris are one of the strongest teams in Europe, as you can see by how they’ve been playing in the last few months. It’s a great fixture to look forward to for anyone who loves football. We’ve both scored lots of goals this season and play in a similar way, so it should be interesting.”
Luis Enrique: “I don’t think the first leg will define who qualifies, but it’s true that it’s a very, very important match for us. It’s difficult for our opponents to play at the Parc des Princes with the pressure and the atmosphere. It’s extraordinary and I hope we can benefit from it. These are two teams with many strengths that are going to face each other. On paper, it’s one of the best matches you can watch.”
The Officials (ITA)
Referee: Davide Massa
Assistant Referees: Ciro Carbone, Stefano Alassio
Fourth Official: Maurizio Mariani
VAR: Aleandro Di Paolo, Daniele Chiff
Kickoff is set for 8:00PM GMT/3:00PM ET tomorrow, and television listings for the match can be found on LiveSoccerTV.
In the meantime, and as always, we’ll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it’s released, our live matchday thread, and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on the action as it happens.