Having stormed to the top of the inaugural league phase in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, Liverpool’s knockout journey commences on Wednesday evening [20:00 GMT, 21:00 CET] as they take to PSG’s Parc des Princes for the first leg of their last-16 tie.
PSG, on the other hand, needed to make use of the new play-off system to qualify for this round of the competition – and Luis Enrique’s men ran riot against fellow French opposition, putting 10 goals past Stade Brestois over two legs.
This is the 13th consecutive season in which les Parisiens have reached the knockout stages of UEFA Champions League, but had it not been for a three-game winning streak including a 4-2 comeback against a now-eliminated Manchester City side, Enrique’s men would have been at risk of a painful early exit.
Their punishment for underperforming in the early stages of the competition is a meeting with Arne Slot’s Liverpool, a side that looked to be indomitable on the European stage until a rotated squad suffered a 3-2 defeat to PSV Eindhoven on the final day of league phase action.
The Stats
Wednesday’s meeting in the French capital comes as just the third clash between the sides in the UEFA Champions League; the prior two came in the 2018/19 group stage, with Liverpool winning at home and PSG picking up three points at the Parc des Princes.
That loss in Paris fits into something of an unwanted trend for the Reds, who have failed to win an away game in France since their victory over Olympique de Marseille in 2008/09. PSG’s record at home against English sides isn’t much better, with just six wins from 15 encounters against opposition from across the Channel.
But since the turn of the year, PSG’s Ousmane Dembélé has really found form. The former Barcelona winger is averaging a goal every 48 minutes across all competitions in 2025, providing 1.97 goal contributions per 90.
Liverpool have their own in-form forward too, and it’s none other than Mohamed Salah. Across all competitions in 2024/25, the forward has bagged 30 goals and 22 assists – outperforming his xG by four goals already.
With goals flowing freely for both sides, it’s really no wonder they’re both a staggering 13 points clear at the top of the table in their respective domestic competitions.
Team News
PSG head into Wednesday’s clash with Liverpool with a fully-fit squad, though we’d expect Luis Enrique to make a few changes to the side that cruised past Lille on the weekend.
Marquinhos could make his 100th Champions League start if he retains his place in les Parisiens‘ starting lineup, where Vitinha and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia could reclaim their places after starting on the bench last time out.
Liverpool have four players ruled out ahead of the first leg – though Arne Slot won’t be stressing too much, as we can’t envisage that any of them would have started against the reigning French champions anyway.
Joe Gomez, Tyler Morton and Conor Bradley are all sidelined through injury, while Amara Nallo misses this clash through suspension after being shown a red card on his club debut in that aforementioned 3-2 loss to PSV.
With the form they’re both in, we’d expect Ousmane Dembélé and Mohamed Salah to be the players to watch on Wednesday.
TV Guide
Fans in the United Kingdom can tune in to watch this UEFA Champions League meeting on TNT Sports 1, with coverage from 19:00 GMT ahead of kickoff at 20:00 GMT.
For those in France, Canal+ will be showing the match with coverage from 20:00 CET ahead of a 21:00 CET kickoff at the Parc des Princes.
FromTheSpot prediction
We predict a tight affair between two of Europe’s most in-form sides on Wednesday, but envisage that PSG will edge it and claim a 2-1 lead in front of their home faithful.
Following a 4-1 victory over Lille on Saturday, confidence will be high amongst the PSG ranks and taking into account Liverpool’s poor run of results on French soil in recent years, we expect Luis Enrique’s side to prevail on Wednesday.
But Liverpool were not in action over the weekend and have had longer to prepare for their trip to Paris as a result – so a closely-contested affair should be expected.