Liverpool at risk of triple Champions League suspension blow in PSG quarter-final first leg

Liverpool could suffer a triple suspension blow when they take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash on Wednesday evening.

The Reds return to the venue where they clinched a narrow 1-0 victory in the 2024-25 last 16 thanks to a Harvey Elliott effort, before PSG prevailed on penalties in the return fixture.

While Luis Enrique's men are now parading around their European trophy and also leading the way domestically, Liverpool have experienced a dramatic fall from grace in Arne Slot's second season.

The Dutchman's only hope of silverware now lies in the UCL after Saturday's 4-0 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals, but whether European success or failure will impact his job security is another question entirely.

Slot will at least come into the first leg with no fresh concerns on the injury front, and there is hope that Alexander Isak will make the squad on Wednesday following his recent return to training from a leg fracture.

Liverpool trio at risk of suspension for PSG second leg

However, Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch must all tread carefully, as the trio are all at risk of missing the second leg if they pick up a yellow card at the Parc des Princes.

Van Dijk, Jones and Gravenberch all sit on two yellow cards for the UCL season, and up until the end of the quarter-finals, three bookings equals a one-game ban.

All three coincidentally picked up their second cautions in the 1-0 last-16 first-leg loss to Galatasaray but managed to avoid a second-leg yellow card, which would have ruled them out of the visit to Paris.

Conor Bradley would also fall into the same boat, but the right-back is on Liverpool's long-term injury list as he recovers from a season-ending knee problem.

Giovanni Leoni, Wataru Endo and Alisson Becker are also out of contention for the visitors, and the latter is not expected back in time for the return leg either.

How could Liverpool cope without Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones?

If the worst should happen and Liverpool lost Van Dijk, Jones and Gravenberch for the second leg at Anfield, Slot would have an especially tricky central dilemma to solve.

Joe Gomez would be a natural fit to replace Van Dijk in the heart of defence, but that scenario would likely involve both him and fellow injury-plagued defender Jeremie Frimpong playing the full 90 minutes in the second leg.

With no Jones, no Endo and no Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai would almost certainly drop into a deeper midfield role alongside Alexis Mac Allister, opening up a spot for a new face in attack.

Cody Gakpo would likely line up on the left with Florian Wirtz operating centrally, but Reds fans would no doubt be crying out for Rio Ngumoha to make an appearance.