LIVERPOOL VS. PSG
| Tuesday, April 14th |
Champions League | Anfield
8PM GMT/3PM EST
It’s really hard to feel optimistic about this one. Liverpool host PSG on Tuesday in a do or die match in the Champions League with a two goal deficit to overcome. They had a decent win on the weekend over Fulham, scoring twice and maintaining the clean sheet, but PSG travel to Merseyside with a week of rest after their Ligue 1 match was rescheduled to accommodate the trip. It might be the last time we see Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson
in the European tournament, after both players announced their departure at the end of this season. PSG left winger Bradley Barcola will be back from injury, causing problems down that flank. The list goes on.
Where does one find the optimism for this? Liverpool have struggled with meaningful consistency all season, so though a 2-0 win over Fulham was great, it’s difficult not to think that they’ve expended all their energy on that so they can maintain a decent place in the Premier League, making a loss in the Champions League all but inevitable.
What are the silver linings? Alexander Isak is back, having come off the bench last week against PSG and on the weekend against Fulham. Curtis Jones’ injury that took him off on Saturday doesn’t appear to be as serious as once thought, as he was spotted in team training on Monday. Maybe even the rest for PSG will backfire on them and we will be more intense in wrangling the momentum of the weekend’s win, whereas they might come at it a little more lackadaisical. Am I grasping at straws? Maybe.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konaté, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Wirtz, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Ekitike, Gakpo
Alisson is still unable to compete, as he nurses the injury he sustained last month. He is expected to come back at the end of the month, but that still means we rely on Georgian Giorgi Mamardashvili in goal. Robertson played almost a full 90 on the weekend, so we’re more likely to see Milos Kerkez starting on the left instead, especially with the prospect of Bradley Barcola opposing him. Curtis Jones will potentially be on the bench, and though Rio Ngumoha was hugely impressive on the weekend, he’s less likely to start this time in the interest of protecting his muscles.
PSG look to have a nearly fully fit squad, with Fabian Ruiz the only holdout still nursing a knee injury.
The Managers Have Their Say
Arne Slot: “Actually, if you really looked at the game back you could see that we have pressed them high on multiple, multiple, multiple occasions. Unfortunately, seven or eight of those moments led to them being one-on-one to our goalkeeper. So, again, the approach tomorrow will be to take the risk – because that’s, first of all, what we need – but to get the ball off them you need to press them, and we saw how difficult it is to press these players. But that was the same last season and Anfield did make a big difference for us last season, and I am expecting it to make a big difference for us tomorrow as well.”
Luis Enrique: “There are pitfalls. It’s almost a trap. Everyone says ‘you won easily 2-0 and are much better than the opposition. People say that and it might be the case, I don’t know. But things can change so quickly. You need to be ready. You can concede in the first half and the game is still open. What I do think is that we need to prepare this game exactly as previous games. [Liverpool] are going to have to come out and attack, try to score. but I need to ensure my team knows it will encounter difficulties. It won’t be easy.”
The Officials
Referee: Maurizio Mariani Assistants: Daniele Bindoni, Alberto Tegoni Fourth Official: Matteo Marchetti
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