Every competition has favorites, dark horses, or underdogs. Liverpool, given the kind of season they have had so far, it won’t be out of place to put them side by the side with defending champions of the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid.
Paris Saint-Germain struggled at some point in the league phase of the competition but the French Champions showed they can be ruthless by effortlessly dispatching Brest in the playoff round.
The Parisiens rounded off the league phase unbeaten as they recorded wins over Salzburg, Manchester City and Stuttgart to progress into the playoff.
The 2020 finalist scored 10 goals against Brest without conceding as they progressed into the second round of the competition.
Liverpool, on the hand, had a fantastic run in the league phase as they topped the log with 21 points from eight matches.
The Reds are favorites to win and progress into the quarter-finals, but the Parisiens have enough to cause an upset and hurt Liverpool’s charge to win a treble.
1. Potent Attack
Paris Saint-Germain are as dangerous and potent as Liverpool in offense. Mohammed Salah is having a mind-blowing season with 30 goals in 29 matches so far for the Reds but Ousmane Dembele has also been in imperious form for the French Champions.
The former Barcelona winger seems to have put his injury troubles behind and he is having probably his best season yet. The 27-year-old forward has 26 goals and six assists in 33 matches for PSG so far this season and is the club’s highest goalscorer.
Aside from Dembele, PSG also have French winger Bradley Barcola and Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos who have also been impressive this season. The former has 17 goals in 39 matches while the latter has 12 in 24 appearances.
PSG’s trio of Dembele, Ramos and Barcola can hurt Liverpool’s defense when the opportunity arises. The Reds tend to struggle with crosses across the ground in the box. Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes will look to capitalize on this frailty ahead of Wednesday night.
2. Solid Midfield Base
PSG boast of a very competitive midfield that can stand toe-to-toe with whoever Arne Slot chooses to file out on Wednesday night. Ousmanae Dembele and his partners in attack might have taken the shine because of their goals and assists, the trio of Fabian Ruiz, talented Portuguese midfield sensation Joao Neves, and French highly-rated regista Desire Doue who can also join the attack if necessary. The youngster has seven-goal involvement this season in 11 starts.
While Fabian Ruiz and Joao join the attackers to press high into the opposition defense, forcing them to go wide or play long balls, Doue helps in receiving the ball from deep and progressing it high up the pitch. The young midfielder is technically gifted as he rarely loses the ball and maintains composure under pressure.
The skillsets of Desire Doue, Fabian Ruiz, Joao Neves, Vitinha, who can play in place of Doue, are complimentary and give PSG a balance in the middle of the park.
3. Home Advantage
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Paris Saint-Germain are notorious for dispatching top opposition in front of their home fans in the Champions League and sometimes in the Ligue 1. The Parisiens took apart Manchester City in the league phase of the competition as they came back from two goals down to record a 4-2 win at the Parc des Princes.
A few days ago, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Maquinhos and Bradley Barcola scored as PSG dispatched Lille in a Ligue 1 fixture to a 13-point lead on the log.
PSG annihilated Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of the 2016/2017 Champions League quarter-finals even though they suffered a humiliating 6-1 loss in the second leg at the Camp Nou.
Liverpool’s last visit to Paris ended in a 2-1 defeat in a group stage fixture in 2018.
The Parisiens will look to take advantage of their home ground when the Reds visit Parc des Princes on Wednesday night.
