Preview: Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool - prediction, team news, lineups

When Liverpool face Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night, French lightning will surely have to strike twice for Arne Slot if the Reds are to have any hope of prolonging their European adventure.

The Harvey Elliott-inspired Premier League champions memorably prevailed 1-0 at the Parc des Princes just over a year ago, albeit before Luis Enrique's men silenced Anfield from the penalty spot.

Match preview

Facing a team donning blue for the third match in a row, Liverpool certainly felt the blues against both Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City, the latter of whom dismantled Slot's side in merciless fashion in the FA Cup.

A two-week reset during the international break evidently did Liverpool little good, as an electrifying Erling Haaland hat-trick and slick Antoine Semenyo chip propelled Man City into the semi-finals with a 4-0 rout of the Reds.

In Virgil van Dijk's own words, the English champions "gave up" at the Etihad; a highly worrying admission for all of the fans, the players, and the under-fire Slot, who is ostensibly losing more supporters by the week but remains immune to the P45 for now.

However, the former Feyenoord boss has now overseen a miserable 15 defeats in all tournaments this term - Liverpool's most in one season since 2014-15 under Brendan Rodgers - and just one win from five, albeit a dominant Champions League win against Galatasaray in the last-16 second leg.

The Reds had been bested 1-0 on the road before that 4-0 revenge job, though, and the visitors have now suffered an unsightly four defeats from their last five away games in all competitions, only beating Championship-bound Wolverhampton Wanderers in that time.

National champion faces national champion in this UCL quarter-final tie, but while Liverpool are about to cede their Premier League crown with a whimper, PSG are - finally - back in firm control of the Ligue 1 title race.

Lens were hitherto mounting an incredible effort to end Les Parisiens' reign of dominance, but Les Sang et Or's recent slip-ups have allowed Enrique's men to establish a four-point lead at the top of the table, and they still have a game in hand too.

Wednesday's hosts most recently eased to a 3-1 triumph over Toulouse, thanks in no small part to an Ousmane Dembele double, to extend their winning run to four matches in all tournaments, two of which saw Enrique's champions have their way with a lacklustre Chelsea outfit.

Speaking of fab fours, PSG have also progressed from each of their last four Champions League quarter-final ties, and the holders have strung together a seven-game unbeaten run against English teams in the competition, winning five of those fixtures.

There are no prizes for guessing which Premier League team last conquered PSG in Europe, though, and both sides boast three victories over the other in official UEFA fixtures - two small crumbs of comfort for the Liverpool faithful to cling onto.

Paris Saint-Germain Champions League form:

Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions):

Liverpool Champions League form:

Liverpool form (all competitions):

Team News

Liverpool at least came out of Saturday's slaughter with no new fitness concerns and even welcomed all of Mohamed Salah, Federico Chiesa and Jeremie Frimpong back from injury, but Alexander Isak (leg) was not quite ready to make the cut.

The £125m attacker may be considered for a place on the bench this week, but Alisson Becker (unspecified) could miss the rest of the month, while Conor Bradley (knee), Giovanni Leoni (ACL) and Wataru Endo (ankle) are out for the season.

Frimpong for Joe Gomez should be the first change Slot considers on Wednesday night, but Salah can be sure to reprise his role, despite seeing a penalty saved by James Trafford on a miserable Manchester afternoon.

While Salah will feature in midweek, one potential candidate to succeed him at Anfield - Bradley Barcola - will not, as the France international is recovering from an ankle sprain and is also at risk of missing the second leg next week.

Fabian Ruiz (knee) and teenage attacker Quentin Ndjantou (unspecified) are sidelined too, but Senny Mayulu - one of the scorers against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge - is now back in team training following a minor calf injury.

None of Vitinha, Joao Neves or Nuno Mendes made the first XI against Toulouse, but the trio are certain to return to their rightful roles on Wednesday night, as will evergreen skipper Marquinhos.

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:

Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Neves; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Ekitike

We say: Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 Liverpool

Not a single one of Liverpool's previous 36 competitive games against French teams has finished 0-0, and there is little chance of a drab draw at the Parc des Princes, where things could get incredibly messy for the Reds.

In terms of goals, PSG have our backing to do a Man City on Wednesday night, leaving Liverpool needing to do a Barcelona next week to keep their Champions League charge alive.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.