Liverpool will face PSG once again in the Champions League after being knocked out by the eventual winners on penalties in last season's competition.
Arne Slot smiles at a press conference
Liverpool boss Arne Slot will be hoping his side can pull off an upset to beat PSG over two legs (Image: Getty Images)
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Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly unlikely to have their clash against Lens postponed between the two legs of their Champions League tie against Liverpool. PSG face the Reds in the quarter-finals next month with the first leg in Paris on April 8.
The French champions enjoyed five days off between both legs of their last 16 clash against Chelsea this month after their request to postpone a Ligue 1 match against Nantes was approved. Luis Enrique's men were set to face struggling Nantes on the weekend of March 13-15, either side of their games against Chelsea on Wednesday, March 11 and Tuesday, March 17.
But that game was moved to April 22 instead, meaning they were able to fully focus on the knockout clash against Liam Rosenior's team. That decision paid dividends with PSG thrashing the Blues 8-2 over both legs.
Many have wondered whether PSG will do the same for their last eight clash against Arne Slot's side. The Parisians are due to face title rivals Lens on April 11 - in between a two-legged tie against the Reds.
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But French football expert Matt Spiro suggests the European champions will not enjoy that same luxury against Liverpool. He claims Lens will not be accepting any requests for postponement.
He goes on to suggest that the fixture will remain in its current date as no alternative scenario would ‘make sense’ for Lens. PSG currently lead the French top-flight table by a point and have a game in hand over second-placed Lens.
Liverpool will be hoping to go into that tie against Enrique's team with some form after thrashing Turkish side Galatasaray 4-0 on Wednesday night (4-1 on aggregate) to progress. However, they are set to face a tough FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester City four days before the first leg in Paris .
Nevertheless, Slot insists he is looking forward to the challenge of facing the team that knocked his side out on penalties in the last 16 last season.
PSG coach Luis Enrique salutes coach of Liverpool Arne Slot at final whistle during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 first leg match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Liverpool FC (Reds) at Parc des Princes stadium on March 5, 2025 in Paris, France
Slot and Enrique will do battle in the Champions League knockout stages again(Image: 2025 Jean Catuffe)
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He said: “If you go to latter stages of Champions League then you know on thing for sure – you’re going to face Paris Saint-Germain because they are an incredible team. We have experienced that last season when we faced them away from home, very, very, very difficult game, here at Anfield we played a fantastic game. I’ve said a lot of times how great a match that was, the best game I’ve managed in my career.
“Not the result, but it was the way football should be played, both teams just playing football, just wanting to entertain the fans. We were the only team that brought them to extra-time, we were the only team that brought them to penalties.
“That team has shown this season they haven’t dropped a level, and we showed tonight [against Galatasaray] we can still perform at the level we were performing for large parts of last season.
“It gives me and us a lot of confidence that we have this performance. But it’s not first one this season, we’ve had more of them especially in Europe, and we have to try to find the consistency.
“Although I can already disappoint people, this performance is hardly possible to copy one more time because 5.02 xG on a Champions League night while conceding 0.18, that’s not going to be easy to copy that one more time.”