Liverpool v Paris Saint-Germain: Champions League last 16, second leg
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Some more predictions and analysis from the postbag beforekick-off!
Bill:
There's a very high chance that PSG superfan AND one of the most exciting cyclists of the previous French generation Thibaut Pinot is on Merseyside tonight. If anyone knows about coming from behind, getting a stomp on, climbing that mountain and reaching in to the bag of thrilling heroics to score a victory, it's him.
It's going to be great, but Liverpool will get by with a 2-1 win tonight.
Stephen:
Great comparison chart (see 19:12 GMT) but given the generally poor standard of the French Ligue this really does flatter Dembélé!
Michael:
Not sure anyone actually paid attention to what happened in Paris. Liverpool will be unfortunate and I doubt fortune will favor them again. I really see PSG thrashing them tonight.
Kieran:
Those stats remind me of an old Wenger quote: 'Liverpool, they never win the league at home, but they do in Europe. Why? Anfield. Home game, return game, this is the most heated stadium in Europe. That's the only place you don't want to go.'
State-owned clubs don't exactly enjoy the warmest of welcomes round there either. Just ask Man City. PSG have their work cut out for them. Gakpo is back. Let's have a game to make Klopp proud! Share
The last time these sides met at Anfield … 👁️✋ Roberto Firmino scores for Liverpool in a 3-2 thriller. Share
The stats do not read well for Paris Saint-Germain. None of the last 15 French sides to play away from home against an English opponent in Europe have managed to win, with 14 of those ending in losses. The last victory was by PSG against Manchester United in 2020-21.
Liverpool, who have won all four of their home Champions League games this season, have progressed from their last 14 knockout stage ties in this competition. The last side to eliminate them after Liverpool took an advantage into the second leg was in 2001-02 against Bayer Leverkusen.
But with all that being said … Luis Enrique's side were fantastic last week. Mendes stayed tight to Salah all night, who was reduced to 41 touches, no shots and no successful dribbles (from four attempts). The only fault of the Portuguese was switching off when Elliott came off.
PSG also implemented a great press which forced Alisson and Van Dijk to play long (quite unsuccessfully). Share
Barcelona are closing in on a spot in the quarter-finals. Join Scott Murray for live updates and reaction. Barcelona v Benfica: Champions League last 16, second leg – live Share
The first pre-match postbag! Some fun analysis, predictions and reminiscing on classic smash-and-grabs.
Peter:
Paris may boast the Eiffel Tower, but it was Alisson who gave a towering eyeful of a performance in the City of Light. May he and the Reds give the French visitors a memorable lesson in Scouse today. Altogether now, ' Allez allez allez !'
Justin:
The worst European smash-and-grab was the 1975 European Cup Final when Leeds totally outplayed Bayern Munich, had a perfectly good goal ruled out by Beckenbauer the referee, had a penalty denied, and somehow were beaten 2-0. It was at PSG's home ground too. God, it was robbery… 50 years later, and I'm no longer bitter. But I'm still a bit traumatized.
Gary:
Do the Rafa v Jose years count, if both teams were determined to smash and grab in the same game, peaking in the 1-0 Champions League second leg? A game not even decided by a real life score, but a 'ghost' goal?*
*Cech would have been sent off, less spoken about as spoils the story.
Kieran:
I wonder if Arne Slot is thinking that this is essentially practice for facing Arsenal next year-with an actual front line, of course. IMO Luis Enrique is the best choice for replacing Arteta, who is probably running on fumes at this point. And, of course, I shall ask that obligatory question at this time: Is Tuchel in the stands?
Unsure if Tuchel, who names his first England squad on Friday, is at Anfield tonight. I will keep an eye out!
Chris:
Predicting a great game no doubt. I think Slot is going to catch them cold, PSG will expect them to attempt to be the normal controlled Liverpool however expect a Klopp style heavy metal start and Liverpool to be two up in the first 20. Share
The top scorers of their respective leagues come head to head tonight. Neither scored in the first leg. What will their impact be tonight? Mohamed Salah v Ousmane Dembélé Share
So, both teams field the exact same XI as the first leg.
Slot makes three changes to the Liverpool team that started against Southampton on Saturday: Robertson, Mac Allister and Jota replace Tsimikas, Jones and Núñez. Gakpo is fit enough for the bench after recovering from the ankle knock.
And as expected, Luis Enrique reinstates those eight changes made against victory over Rennes. Share
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konaté, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Jota, Díaz
Subs: Kelleher, Jaros, Endo, Núñez, Chiesa, Jones, Gakpo, Elliott, Tsimikas, McConnell, Quansah
Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz; Kvaratskhelia, Dembélé, Barcola
Subs: Safonov, Tenas, Kimpembe, Ramos, Doué, Lee, Hernández, Mayulu, Zaïre-Emery, Beralso, Mbaye
Referee: Istvan Kovacs (Romania) Share
Team news will be coming shortly, with both sides expected to be fielding their strongest XI tonight.
Slot did confirm that Cody Gakpo will be in contention for the match after coming back from a knock but Tyler Morton (shoulder), Joe Gomez (hamstring) and Conor Bradley (hamstring) will miss out.
During their 3-1 against Southampton, Slot opted to take Dominik Szoboszlai off at half-time and later said he may have made a 'mistake' by overworking the Hungarian. Will he hand Harvey Elliott the nod tonight instead?
Luis Enrique's brings a fully fit squad to Merseyside and opted to rest almost his entire best XI for his side's meeting with Rennes. Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, Fabián Ruiz, Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes and Gianluigi Donnarumma will likely be on the teamsheet after being dropped at the weekend. Share
PSG's Luis Enrique has 'no doubt' that whoever wins tonight's tie will be making it to the final, set for 31 May at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Our goal is clear: to try to be better than our opponents. Away matches are always more difficult, but we have confidence in what we do well. We also know what we have to improve. We want to have the ball more than our opponents, and from there, we'll see what possibilities come about.
One thing is for sure, over the course of the two games we will be seeing two of the best teams in Europe, two contenders to win the Champions League. Whoever wins tomorrow will go through to the final, I've no doubt. Share
Let's start with what the managers had to say before the tie. The Liverpool head coach, Arne Slot, has branded PSG the most in-form side in Europe and knows his team have to be near-perfect to advance.
I do think so [that the best performance of the season will be needed] because PSG are the most complete team we have faced so far. What I mean by complete is, OK, we have faced Arsenal and City and they are not big margins, but the intensity they played at combined with the quality they have and they are one of the richest clubs. Maybe there is one club a bit further ahead.
They have so much quality and a great manager who has the team playing in a way that is not easy to play against. He brings the best out of every player and brings out an incredible work-rate. We have to be at our best. But we didn't have ball possession at City away – the other richest club in the world together with Paris Saint-Germain – and at home we had a completely different performance against City. Share
On the flight home from Paris last week, the Liverpool players were likely counting their lucky stars after their 1-0 defeat of Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
It was a classic smash-and-grab, with the hosts dominating for most of the match. Alisson kept the visitors in the match with nine saves and Harvey Elliot ensured the visitors left the French capital with something, scoring moments after he came off the bench, the goal coming completely against the run of play.
The tie is far from over. A hungry PSG side will be keen of righting the loss of last Wednesday while Liverpool will hope to put on a better showing and record another famous night at Anfield under the lights.
With a spot in the quarter-finals is on the line join me for the 8pm GMT/9pm CET kick-off and, as always, feel free to send me an email with any thoughts, predictions, questions, complaints and your favourite Champions League smash-and-grabs. Share
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