PSG v Liverpool: Match Preview | OneFootball

By Leah Bower

Two of the most in form teams in Europe are to clash heads as Paris Saint-Germain host Liverpool at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

Alike in their prolific goal scorers, pressing ability, and dominance, this tie should be one of the spectacles of the season, with PSG manager, Luis Enrique, saying ‘it could have been a Champions League final’.

With the Reds flying at the top of the Premier League table, their focus now shifts to dominating Europe’s biggest stage against arguably the other most in form team.

PSG have been in an incredible run of form. They are 22 games unbeaten since their 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on 26th November 2024. On top of that, they are in fact unbeaten in Ligue 1 so far this season and currently on a 10 game win streak.

Despite this impressive recent form, their start to the Champions league since the departure of their star man, Kylian Mbappe, was tenuous – losing 3 of their first 4 matches meaning they finished 15th in the Champions League table.

These early faults and their now incredible form has meant that they now have to face Liverpool, league table winners, in the round of 16.

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Tactics

Their tactics have changed immensely over this season. Switching from a 4-3-3 to a 3-2-5 when in possession, they’ve put most of their focus on the wingers and fullbacks utilising that wide diamond.

They rank second only to Real Madrid across Europes top leagues in their use of switch of play due to their positional fluidity in order to draw the opposition out of shape and exploiting the

Their pressing intensity would rank the highest in the Premier League, winning 6.5 duels, tackles and interceptions per minute of opponent possession – Liverpool are ranked 3rd in the Premier league with 5.9.

Since finding this run of form, the stats would show that they are arguably better all round without Kylian Mbappe as their goalscorers are now much more distributed throughout the team, with Mbappe scoring 35% of the goals last season, now with Ousmane Dembele having 25% of the share of goals despite his phenomenal form – which is what Luis Enrique hoped for.

“Rather than having a player who scores 40 goals, I wanted players who all score a lot.” – Goal.com

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Battles to watch

Virgil Van Dijk v Dembélé With 18 goals in Ligue 1 and 6 in the Champions League, Dembélé is the obvious goal threat for the Paris side. Since Mbappe, Luis Enrique has relied heavily on the Frenchman, now deploying him centrally in a 9 position. He’s scored 10 goals in his last 7 appearances – more than any other player in Europe’s top 5 leagues. Up against the colossus that is Van Dijk alongside Konaté, and also facing a suspension if he receives a booking, it wont be easy for Dembélé to break down that brick wall, but the stats support that he may well sneak in one or two.

Alexander-Arnold & Robertson v Wingers The Red’s fullbacks have had their fill of scrutiny in the last few months, with Trent’s defensive efforts elusive and age perhaps creeping into the legs of Robbo, but they will have to be on their absolute best form against PSG’s wingers who are essential to the Paris sides lethal attack.

The likes of Doué, Barcola and Kvaratskhelia will be the options of threat on the wing for PSG, with Dembélé and Gonçalo Ramos often being a nuisance in those areas as well.

The success of the wingers undoubtedly comes from their progression from the back line that PSG perfected against Manchester City earlier this year, in which they played a flatter line in the midfield, creating the triangles to spread the opposition fullbacks in order to make the runs in behind.

When at their best, they have been the best fullbacks in the world – but with the queries over Trent and Robertson’s consistency as of late, it’s an area of concern for sure for the Reds.

Salah v Mendes Salah is undoubtedly the Red’s best player this season so Nuno Mendes will have to put in the performance of a lifetime to limit Mo’s input to the game. With 11 goals conceded this season, he does well in his recoveries and regaining possession, but he does pose a threat on the attack. We could possibly see Mendes tuck into a back 3 whilst PSG keep possession, but the option of him being further up the pitch may be too tempting. Salah’s inevitability may hopefully limit Mendes’ key passes through our midfield but it is certainly a key battle to watch. As Salah revealed earlier in the week, ‘one chance and [the defenders] will pay for it’.

Thoughts

The PSG boss has admitted that Liverpool are the ‘best team in Europe’, however he also likened the Reds to Lille, whom they beat convincingly last Saturday 4-1.

Enrique said, ‘We’re not going to change much, [Saturday] was a test, Liverpool and Lille have similar things, we put them under such pressure that they could no longer play from the back, they had to play long.’ Arne Slot stated the Reds are not afraid of PSG, but is ‘impressed by their quality.’ He added, ‘they are on an upwards curve a bit similar to ours at the moment’.

Liverpool have faced PSG only 4 times over the course of their history. With 2 wins each, both at home, PSG only come out on top with goal difference, scoring 7 to Liverpools 6, but it is the legendary James Milner who holds the golden boot in this fixture having scored a penalty in both legs in the 2018/19 Champions League group stages.

These next two legs will quite possibly be the most difficult fixtures both team will have to face en route to the final, but it will surely be the most entertaining.