Having not just survived a beat down, but emerged victorious at the Parc des Princes last Wednesday, Liverpool welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Anfield with a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals not too far away. Then again Luis Enrique will simply tell his visiting charges that a repeat of their performance in the first leg and it is eminently possible, perhaps even highly likely, that the 1-0 deficit will be overturned.
After all Alisson had to make nine saves in what the Brazilian dubbed the performance of his career, just to deny Ousmane Dembele last time out. In the first half in particular PSG were irresistible. Liverpool’s structure improved in the second, but they really did not look like scoring until Harvey Elliott snatched a winner in the 87th minute, setting the stage for an absorbing clash at Anfield.
Champions League expert picks, predictions: Can PSG stage a comeback vs. Liverpool? Will Barcelona cruise?
Pardeep Cattry
Viewing information
- Date: Tuesday, March 11 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
- Location: Anfield — Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: Liverpool +125; Draw +275; PSG +190
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Team news
Liverpool: The most significant injury issue hanging over Anfield in recent days has broken Arne Slot’s way. Cody Gakpo has not been able to start a game since mid-February as he battled with muscular issues, but the Dutch international joined training on Monday and will be in the matchday squad. That means there are options aplenty for who might lead the Liverpool line, Gakpo perhaps the more effective out of possession but Diogo Jota a prime poacher and Darwin Nunez an agent of chaos. Perhaps even Luis Diaz could go through the middle with Gakpo or Curtis Jones out wide.
Only long term absentees Joe Gomez (hamstring), Conor Bradley (muscle) and Tyler Morton (shoulder) will be unavailable to Slot, who must decide if he wants to stick with Andrew Robertson as a more withdrawn left back or use Kostas Tsimikas, who had issues of his own against Southampton at the weekend.
Possible Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Gakpo
PSG: No such headaches for Luis Enrique, it is a clean bill of health for his PSG side. Surely then his XI will be as it was last time out in the Champions League. “Our objective is clear, it is to try to be better than the opponent,” said the head coach. “It is hard to play away from home but you try to control things.
“Everything starts with the football for us, we know what we do well and what we have to improve. Our objective is to have the ball, that is our base, and from there we will see how the game evolves.”
Possible PSG XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Barcola
Prediction
This could be a proper Champions League classic, one that could swing either way. Why not send it all the way to the death, where penalties will decide who advances? PICK: Liverpool 1, PSG 2 (Liverpool win on penalties)
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