As the UEFA Champions League competition commences Tuesday night with the first wave of group stage clashes, one tie truly stands out among all the others- Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool FC. The French powerhouse were the only team to outscore the Reds in the group stage portion of the competition last season.
In other words, expect plenty of scoring in this one. PSG boasts an attacking trio of Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani and Neymar while Liverpool has their fab three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. Let’s take a look at who could miss out, and who should be fit for the monumental match at Anfield.
For the visitors, Neymar and Mbappe will be back in the fold after resting this past weekend in a blowout win over St. Etienne.
On the other touchline, Firmino is a doubt after he suffered an eye injury during an incident with Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen. Firmino had “an abrasion of the eye, but there will be no lasting damage” after the Spurs defender’s finger accidentally got lodged in the Brazilian’s eye socket.
Yes, it was just as scary and gruesome as it sounds. Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana remain out, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a long term absentee.
Liverpool Starting XI Prediction/Team News: go to this link
Kick-off: 8pm (BST), Tuesday 18 Sept
TV: BT Sport
Odds via Betfair: Liverpool – 5/4, PSG – 21/10, Draw – 29/10
Prediction: Liverpool FC 4, PSG 3
Feel free to post your own Reds and/or PSG starting XI predictions, as well as your best guess as to what the final score will be.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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