The nature of second-leg matches in the Champions League naturally leads to a high chance of goals. Liverpool need to score at least twice here to force extra time, and you wouldn’t expect the Reds to walk away with a clean sheet either, given their general struggles under Arne Slot this season.

Liverpool did get a bit of relief through their 2-0 win over Fulham last time out, which has kept their Champions League qualification hopes through the Premier League alive. Liverpool have seen 3+ goals in each of their three games before the first leg defeat against PSG, including conceding four goals on the road against Manchester City in the FA Cup.

The Anfield factor always gives Liverpool that slight chance of pulling off something special, which would aid our selection here if that is the case, but the reality is a lot more sobering for Liverpool who are faced by a PSG side who put eight goals past Chelsea over two legs in the last round, showing that they won’t take their foot off the gas even with that two goal cushion from the first leg.

Kvaratskhelia is enjoying another stellar campaign for PSG in the Champions League. You can’t take your eyes off him when he’s in full flow. He’s the best dribbler in the world in my view, and he tortured Liverpool in the first leg, scoring from one of his seven shots in the game - two of which managed to find the target.

That goal builds on the three goals Kvaratskhelia scored across two legs against Chelsea in the last round of the Champions League, taking his total tally to eight goals across 10 starts in the competition, which is actually four more goals than he’s managed in Ligue 1 this campaign. 

No PSG player has scored more goals in the Champions League than Kvaratskhelia, who has achieved his eight-goal tally from 39 shots (4.43 per 90), seeing 12 of these efforts find the target (1.36 per 90). I think he’ll be able to cause Liverpool problems again here, aided by the extra space he should be afforded with Liverpool having to be a bit more bold in their approach as they chase a route back into the contest.

You may be surprised to know that only Kvaratskhelia (8) has scored more goals in the Champions League this season for PSG than Vitinha (6). Only one of these goals has come from the penalty spot as well, so the midfielder is quite prolific in the Champions League - especially for a player who has only scored once during PSG’s domestic campaign in Ligue 1.

Vitinha has taken 36 shots in the Champions League this season across his 13 starts in the competition (2.77 per 90). This is a really high shot output for a holding midfielder, though classifying Vitinha as that is a bit limiting, as he ends up all over the pitch - as his heat map from the first leg reinforces. 

Vitinha’s shots tend to come from distance; 30 of his 36 efforts have come from outside of the box in the Champions League this term (83%). His role on penalties gives him an extra avenue to get a shot away, though his numbers from open play are very convincing when looking to back Vitinha to get a single shot away in this clash.

Konate has really struggled this season. It started right at the start of the campaign when he was bullied by Mateta and Sarr in the Community Shield game before the season, and he hasn’t really improved from that performance, with Konate repeatedly making errors, which cost Liverpool.

Liverpool don’t really have many other centre-back options to pivot to, a consequence of not securing the signing of Marc Guehi in the summer, so Konate should continue in his role here despite his shortcomings this season. PSG’s front three toyed with Konate in the first leg - getting the Liverpool centre back to commit four fouls as he was run ragged by Kvaratskhelia, Doue, and Dembele.

Konate and Liverpool’s backline, in general, struggled to deal with the dynamism and movement of the PSG front three. They won six fouls between them in the first leg clash, and can tempt Konate into a few more missteps in the second leg, with there being more space for PSG’s frontline to isolate Konate in 1v1 battles - something he really struggles with

Desire Doue scored the winning penalty when PSG knocked out Liverpool in the Champions League last season. That moment really kick-started his campaign with Doue going on to register eight goal contributions across his eight starts - including a man of the match performance in the final as PSG thrashed Inter Milan 5-0. 

Doue has been just as effective again in the Champions League this season, registering seven goal contributions across his five starts, with five of these being goals. He’s scored these five goals from just eight shots on target (1.30 per 90), suggesting that Doue is clinical when given the opportunity in the Champions League. 

Doue scored in the first leg with a deflected strike that looped over Mamardashvilli and should feel confident ahead of his trip to Anfield, having secured PSG’s progression to the quarter finals of the Champions League at the ground last season.

One area I thought Liverpool would make more of in the first leg was set pieces. Arne Slot has moaned about teams using set pieces and marginal gains all season, but the fact remains that Liverpool’s only advantage over PSG is the physicality they can offer from set pieces. 

They’ve leveraged this in the Champions League this season, with Virgil Van Dijk pitching in with five goal contributions across his 11 starts in the Champions League. He’s taken 16 shots across these games (1.45 per 90) with 15 of these efforts being with his head. Four of these shots have found the target (0.36 per 90), which isn’t as promising, but the volume of efforts should give Van Dijk a decent chance of getting a single effort on target. 

Van Dijk is built for these big occasions, I do think Liverpool will be able to improve on the one corner they managed at the Parc Des Princes with their average jumping to around six corners per game when looking at their matches at Anfield in the Champions League this term.

I’ve been a bit disappointed with Mac Allister this season after the high level he set last campaign. He’s looked a little sluggish, which isn’t a criticism solely reserved for the Argentinian - as Liverpool in general have lacked intensity, and are not running as much as they did last season. 

Mac Allister was cautioned after just 31 minutes in the first leg for a cynical foul to stop a counter attack. He went on to commit three fouls in the game, and struggled with the movement of PSG’s frontline and midfield. Liverpool in general did not have an answer to the clever rotations that Luis Enrique’s side put together - and you’d expect there to be even more gaps in this clash as Liverpool chase a way back into the contest.

Mac Allister has committed 14 fouls across his eight starts in the Champions League this season (1.62 per 90), which is a rate that we have already seen rise when faced by the effective rotations of PSG who have a variety of players that can force Mac Allister into committing a few lazy challenges.