Liverpool have a tough task facing them on Tuesday night at Anfield.
The Reds are looking to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League but standing in their way is a Paris Saint-Germain team who are currently one of the best in Europe.
Liverpool were convincingly outplayed by the Ligue 1 leaders in Paris last week and if it wasn’t for Alisson’s heroics in goal, the Merseyside club could have been dead and buried.
Somehow, Arne Slot’s men came away from that game with a 1-0 win, and will now feel confident playing the second leg in front of a packed Anfield crowd.
Gary Neville views Liverpool vs PSG as a 50/50 game, and there will be many out there who believe PSG can get the job done on Merseyside.
Luis Enrique’s team are enough for Slot to be worrying about, however, the Dutch coach will need to be cautious when it comes to five of his players.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Five Liverpool players on the verge of Champions League suspension
Should Liverpool advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the Reds look set to face fellow Premier League club Aston Villa as Unai Emery’s men hold a 3-1 lead over Club Brugge heading into the second leg of their contest.
Slot’s team have played the Birmingham club twice this season and did not experience defeat, with Darwin Nunez’s miss against Aston Villa being a huge talking point the last time they met.
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
However, things could be trickier in the Champions League should they meet, not only due to Emery’s understanding of European football, but the Reds could be without key stars.
According to the Daily Mail’s Lewis Steele, Liverpool have five players at risk of missing the Champions League quarter-final first leg if they are booked against PSG and they advance: Harvey Elliott, Ibrahima Konate, Alexis Mac Allister, Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk.
Yellow cards do not reset in the Champions League until after the quarter-final stage, therefore, all five players will be walking a tightrope over the next two matches, should Liverpool advance.
This is the last thing any of the defensive players would want ahead of facing a very tricky PSG front three as the potential of picking up a booking is high.
Why PSG bookings may work out for Liverpool
Should Liverpool get passed their PSG test, the Reds will play the first leg of their quarter-final tie at Anfield.
This makes a big difference when looking at Liverpool’s suspension situation as if Van Dijk or Mac Allister receive a yellow on Tuesday night, it will be much easier for the players coming in to replace such big stars in the next game in front of their home crowd.
This would soften the blow for Slot, however, the real problem is if any of the five get booked during the first leg of the quarter-finals as it could make things tricky for the return leg away from home.
Slot has a lot of things that will be worrying him ahead of facing PSG on Tuesday night and suspensions will only be a small part of that.
The Dutch coach can only inform the players of their situation and hope for the best that they don’t find themselves in a scenario where they need to pick up a yellow card.