Liverpool F.C. v Paris Saint-Germain – Match Preview
Liverpool return to Champions League action tomorrow night when they host the French Ligue 1 Champions Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield. The Reds will be hoping to emulate last season’s remarkable run that finally saw them lose in controversial fashion to Champions Real Madrid.
Liverpool will be in positive mood following an unbeaten start to the season and, having not lost at Anfield since the 3-2 defeat to West Bromwich Albion on 27th January this year, demonstrate that our Parisian friends will have to be at their best to get anything from this fixture.
Team Selection
Jürgen Klopp has an undoubted embarrassment of riches available to him. The current Liverpool squad is, in my opinion, the strongest in the Champions League era, which began following the rebranding of the then European Cup back in 1992. That’s 26 years by my humble maths skills.
With that in mind, I’d expect the likes of captain Xherdan Shaqiri, Fabinho, Nathaniel Clyne and Alberto Moreno to be in contention for a place in the starting eleven. Given the defensive form of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the central pairing unchanged. However, in view of the demands put on youngster Gomez, I could see Joel Matip taking his place.
Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Rhian Brewster, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Roberto Firmino keep the medical staff busy with various injuries.
For the visitors who also remain unbeaten in their five Ligue 1 games so far, and a three-point lead for good measure. There certainly will be some changes for the French champions. In the main, forced.
Injuries to Layvin Kurzawa, Dani Alves and Thiago Silva, in addition to Adrian Rabiot and Gigi Buffon being suspended, there will be fewer options for coach Thomas Tuchel who will have his work cut out against his compatriot in the other dugout. Natürlich!
Speaking of an embarrassment of riches, Tuchel still has the not insignificant talents of Neymar, Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria to call upon among others. The poor soul.
Betting Odds
At +130, Liverpool are moderate home favourites against French powerhouse PSG (+200) in their first Champions League match, with the draw at +280. These odds are compiled from this site, that helps you pinpoint the top gambling sites.
That’s a nod to Liverpool’s strength at Anfield as PSG is considered the better side, overall, currently at +700 to win the tournament compared to +1200 for the Reds. Liverpool is undefeated in their last 23 Premier League matches at home (15-8-0) and didn’t drop a Champions League game at Anfield last year, either (4-2-0).
In Summary
Despite their being slight favourites for this game, I’d say this is simply down to current form and home advantage for Liverpool. PSG, on the other hand, many would expect to come out on top.
Being a biased fan, I maintain that the Reds, on their day can give any team in the world a good game. Let’s not forget PSG have not really done that well in Europe’s elite footy competition to date. Liverpool on the other hand, have five stars on their shirts. Game on!
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