PSG VS. LIVERPOOL
| Wednesday, April 8th |
Champions League, Quarter-Final First Leg | Parc de Princes
8PM BST/3PM EST
It probably comes as no surprise that PSG come into this one in better form. They won at the weekend against Toulouse, with Ousmane Dembélé scoring twice in the 3-1 victory. They’re now four points clear at the top of their league table, and Ligue 1 is not making them play at the weekend between matches. PSG have won four straight. They are also, of course, the current holders of the European Cup,
and knocked Liverpool out on the way to that prize.
In the last round, PSG decisively beat Chelsea, scoring eight total goals over two legs against the London outfit. These two sides have met on six occasions in all European competition, with both registering three wins — a stat that’s relatively meaningless since Liverpool’s most recent was a consolation win and PSG’s last two saw them progress in the competition.
In terms of fitness, Bradley Barcola probably won’t be fit enough to be involved in this one following his ankle strain, though he is back in training. Fabian Ruiz and Quentin Ndjantou are both unavailable for this one.
Louis Enrique emphasized possession in his pre-match press conference, and it’s therefore worth noting that the Reds managed 38.6% possession last season in the away leg and allowed 18 shots (managing only four themselves). Should Liverpool repeat this particular performance we could find ourselves feeling worse than we did at the weekend — though it was the most lopsided shot difference in a knockout tie in the Champions League so there’s hope that it won’t be defeated.
It’s frankly difficult to not feel some negativity. The holders do tend to be eliminated at this stage of the competition (if their name is not Real Madrid) in recent years, and there is substance to the idea that this PSG side is not quite the unstoppable outfit that Liverpool played in its path to lift silverware last season. They can be got at should the right Liverpool side line up.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Ekitiké, Wirtz
Much noise has been made about Alexander Isak’s inclusion in the traveling squad. The forward has been involved in a week of team training and can play a part in this match per Arne Slot, though not from the start.
Giorgi Mamardashvili will feature again in Alisson’s absence. Should Joe Gomez be fit to go again Slot might be tempted to select him as a “safer hands” option at right back, but Jeremie Frimpong might well play from the start as he progresses through his return from injury. There is, of course, always the option of playing Dominik Szoboszlai out of position once again.
On the other wing Miloš Kerkez and Andy Robertson are both available, and there are arguments both for Kerkez’s aggressiveness and for Robertson’s experience. In midfield and attack the Liverpool coach has a lot of similar decisions to make. We can assume Szoboszlai will start somewhere given his general good form, and Ryan Gravenberch will certainly start as well. Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones are both available as a third option, as is Florian Wirtz should Slot elect to start him deeper. Cody Gakpo, Hugo Eikitiké, Mohamed Salah, and the aforementioned Wirtz could make up the front three, though a change in formation is not out of the question. Benching Salah, too, is also an option, though still one which would get headlines.
Should Liverpool manage to harness the creativity of Florian Wirtz, and should Dominik Szoboszlai maintain his good European form, the Reds have a way through…particularly if defensive errors are minimized. Should Liverpool cede too much time and space around their penalty area, PSG will take advantage.
The goal in this one is to have something to play for in the second leg, which has to include a narrow loss; it worked against Galatasaray, after all. A draw or another sneaky away win — or perhaps a domineering, masterful performance that finally reminds us all who this team really is!! — would be brilliant. Alongside the result, though, we need to worry about suspensions in the home leg: Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones or Virgil van Dijk are all a yellow card away from a suspension for the Anfield match. It goes without saying that lacking especially two of those three would be hard to cope with.
On the other side of things, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes are in the same boat for PSG. Liverpool would do well to keep especially Kvaratskhelia off the pitch where possible, as the Georgian has been directly involved in 11 goals in 11 games in the Champions League this season.
The Managers Have Their Say
Arne Slot: “They’re champions of Europe – fully deserved – and they kept the team together. Usually, the longer you keep a team together, the better they become, if that is even possible because they were so impressive last season.”
Luis Enrique: “We hope to have more of the ball than Liverpool, but we know how difficult it is, because they are a very good team with a very good coach. We are used to playing against English teams, so in that sense it will be no different from last year.”
The Officials
Referee: José María Sánchez ESP Assistants: Raúl Cabañero ESP, Iñigo Prieto ESP Fourth Official: Juan Martínez Munuera ESP VAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP Assistant VAR: Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez ESP
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