Liverpool are set to be without five players for their Champions League second-leg decider against Paris Saint-Germain, as Arne Slot faces some selection headaches for the pivotal match.
Already, without a slight injury crisis, it was going to take an almighty effort for Liverpool to get back into this quarter-final showdown.
Indeed, the Reds were comfortably beaten 2-0 in the first leg in Paris, courtesy of goals from Desire Doue and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, with the Merseyside visitors managing only three shots at the PSG net all night.
Liverpool will need to be far more energetic at Anfield to turn around the two-goal deficit, but Slot will have to contend with some injury issues when it comes to his team selection on Tuesday night, to make this an even more difficult contest.
Liverpool’s injury issues ahead of PSG
As has been stated above, Liverpool could be without five first-team personnel for the tense clash.
For definite, Alisson Becker, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, and Wataru Endo will be missing, with Bradley, Leoni, and Endo all long-term casualties to the Anfield treatment room, owing to knee, foot, and anterior cruciate ligament setbacks.
The Brazilian isn’t as long-term, but he will be absent again in between the sticks for Liverpool against PSG, with Slot having to stick by reserve stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who hasn’t been the most convincing replacement, since Alisson suffered from another hamstring knock in late March.
Only four clean sheets have been kept all season long by the Georgian. Yet, he will head into the tie at Anfield with some renewed confidence, having kept a clean sheet last time out in Premier League action, as Liverpool got back to winning ways 2-0 versus Fulham.
It’s not all completely doom and gloom on the injury front, as Curtis Jones, who was taken off at half-time versus the Cottagers due to groin problems, could miraculously feature against the visitors from Paris.
Slot didn’t sound too convinced that he would be able to shake off his groin issue in time for the showdown with Luis Enrique’s side, but he was pictured in training in the build-up to his clash at the AXA Training Centre where the Reds held an open training session ahead of the clash so he does have the potential to feature.
PSG have also been handed their own boost on the injury front, with the Ligue 1 side’s attack enhanced by the potential reentry of their superstar into the starting XI.
PSG injury news
Indeed, Bradley Barcola looks as if he could be back and available for selection for the match at Anfield, after struggling with an ankle ligament sprain that had been picked up versus Chelsea, earlier in Europe’s elite competition.
He has since missed a handful of Ligue 1 games for Enrique and Co., but the ex-Barcelona boss has now named him amongst his travelling squad to Merseyside, with Liverpool needing to keep firm tabs on the Frenchman, if he does play a part in the second leg showdown.
The Lyon-born trickster scored across both legs for the Parisian giants, as PSG pummelled Liam Rosenior’s Blues 8-2 on aggregate, with 12 goals and six assists his overall tally for the season.
During his pre match press conference he stated: “We are going to have to see after training,” he said. “Each time we have a player coming back from injury it’s always good news.
“He’s been out three weeks and has been working hard to get back and we’ll have to see how he’s feeling today. It’s important for us to get players back.”
Enrique will be without both Fabian Ruiz who has been sidelined since January with a knee injury and Quentin Ndjantou for this clash under the Anfield lights, taking the number of injury issues for both sides to a hefty seven.
“The good news is that Fabian (Ruiz) is on the mend and training with the team,” Enrique added.
It has all the makings of being a classic Champions League encounter, with Liverpool having to make do with what they’ve got at their disposal, away from their long list of injury concerns, to pull off a monumental shock and progress to the Champions League semi-finals.
