Liverpool will be desperate to return to winning ways and inch closer to a spot in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals when they lock horns with Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their quarter-final at Parc des Princes on Wednesday night. Arne Slot has no new issues to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Alisson Becker (hamstring), Giovanni Leoni (knee), Stefan Bajcetic (muscular), Conor Bradley (knee), and Wataru Endo (ankle) remain in the treatment room, with neither player closing in on returning to action this month. Meanwhile, Alexander Isak continues to work on his fitness ahead of his much-anticipated comeback.
The Swedish international was not on the bench in the FA Cup clash with Manchester City this past weekend, but he may be in the matchday squad this week after travelling to Paris with the Reds. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Slot provided a fitness update on Isak.
The Liverpool head coach said, “[Isak] finished close to a week of team training sessions now, so he can play a part. Otherwise, I wouldn’t take him. I decided not to take him to the Etihad because we felt in talks with the player, medical, performance staff that he wasn’t able to get a performance out of him yet. And since he’s with us now, we do think that we can get a performance out of him now. But not to start – that [would] be clear.”
Giorgi Mamardashvili will deputise for Alisson Becker between the sticks, with Liverpool lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against PSG on Wednesday. The backline will feature Jeremie Frimpong, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, and Milos Kerkez, with Joe Gomez dropping to the bench.
As for the midfield unit, Alexis Mac Allister will replace Curtis Jones, joining Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch in the middle of the park. Finally, Hugo Ekitike will lead the line for the away side against PSG, with Mohamed Salah and Florian Wirtz completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Mamardashvilli; Frimpong, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Mac Allister, Wirtz; Ekitike
