Arne Slot could be without as many as FOUR key Liverpool players for the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain next week if things go wrong.
On Wednesday night, Liverpool get their Champions League season back underway as they travel to the French capital to face Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes.
The match is the first of two to be contested by the two European giants, with the second leg set to take place at Anfield next week.
But ahead of the deciding leg of the match next week, Liverpool could be without four of their key players if things don’t go their way in the first leg on Wednesday night.
As stated in the competition rules of the Champions League, any player who receives three yellow cards between the first match and the quarterfinals will miss their side’s next match.
All previous yellow cards in the competition will be wiped following the quarterfinals, meaning that, unfortunately for Liverpool, four of their players could miss out on the home leg against PSG is they are cautioned in Paris.
Ibrahima Konate, Alexis Mac Allister, Harvey Elliott and Darwin Nunez all picked up two yellow cards across Liverpool’s eight group stage matches, leaving them vulnerable of missing next week’s match.
With that in mind, it’s very possible that the four stars could see reduced minutes during Wednesday’s match as Slot will want to ensure they are available to take part in the deciding clash at Anfield.
Slot will be particularly worried about Konate, who has started and played the full 90 minutes in five of Liverpool’s Champions League matches so far this season.
Should the Frenchman be suspended for the second match against PSG, then Joe Gomez’s season-ending injury would likely force Slot to start Jarrell Quansah, who has recently provided cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold in the absence of the injured Conor Bradley.
The Liverpool boss will also undoubtedly be concerned about the possibility of being without Mac Allister at Anfield, as the midfielder has made six Champions League appearances so far this season, starting all but one of them.
As for PSG, the only player at risk of missing the second leg of the tie is Fabian Ruiz, who will miss the trip to Anfield if he is cautioned by match referee Davide Massa.
