Liverpool should be considered clear favourites to progress at Paris Saint-Germain‘s expense even if they were to narrowly lose the first leg of their Champions League clash, Reds expert David Lynch has argued.
Boss Arne Slot will return to the touchline on Wednesday night when his team take on Ligue 1 side PSG away from home in the Champions League round of 16.
The tie would not look out of place had it been this year’s final, and the Reds are likely to encounter many challenges at the Parc des Princes.
However, Lynch believes that there is no reason to doubt Liverpool’s chances of advancing to the next round despite PSG’s obvious qualities, telling Sports Mole: “If you get anything like a draw or even just a 1-0 defeat away from home, Liverpool will fancy their chances of getting through at Anfield.
“That first leg is all about keeping it tight, and as much as they are a huge name and you’ve got some absolutely brilliant footballers in the team who you’ve got to be wary of, it’s still one way for me. Liverpool are massive favourites.”
Liverpool come into the clash having had a full week of preparation, whereas PSG faced Lille in their domestic league on March 1.
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Can Liverpool earn a positive result against PSG?
Liverpool are first in the Premier League and lead second-placed Arsenal by 13 points, and one of the reasons the gap at the top of the table is so large is that Slot has proven to be tactically flexible.
The Dutchman has at times encouraged his team to use a more patient approach during buildup, but he has also encouraged the team to play directly towards the likes of Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.
Slot also utilised a low block against Manchester City on February 23, and Lynch expressed his view to Sports Mole that a more reserved approach on Wednesday may work well against PSG, saying: “You saw City go over there and give them a bit of trouble, and obviously that game got turned around in the end, but City were winning – they were doing OK. So PSG can be vulnerable.
“They can be got at. We’ve seen enough evidence of that in the group phase, so I don’t think it’s one that Liverpool should be fearing, but the key is they’ve got to keep it tight in that first leg because PSG will be at their most dangerous there. If Liverpool have an off night, that attacking unit that PSG have got can put themselves two or three goals up. They’re that good.
“It’s all about avoiding that off night and being as solid as possible. If they do that, Liverpool give themselves every chance of going through. Like I said, if they get a narrow defeat in the away leg, I would still fancy them big time to turn it around at Anfield and go through.”
Given Salah has scored 30 goals and provided 22 assists in just 39 appearances this term, it would be surprising if the Reds failed to score on Wednesday, and they have improved defensively recently considering they have kept two consecutive clean sheets.
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Why Liverpool’s tough Champions League draw does not matter
Liverpool topped the league phase of the Champions League but were arguably handed one of the most difficult round of 16 ties in the entire competition.
The Reds may also have to play Real Madrid in the semi-final over two legs should they reach that stage, while sides like Barcelona and Inter Milan have what looks like a more favourable pathway to the final.
Lynch was not overly concerned by the potential challenges that Liverpool could face, and instead highlighted that the Merseysiders could have a relatively straightforward quarter-final tie.
Lynch told Sports Mole: “Barcelona got the slightly kinder side of the draw, which is a little frustrating from Liverpool’s perspective, but I think I saw some of the reaction to the draw and I think people thought that this group phase would take luck of the draw out of it completely. That’s clearly never going to be the case.
“It has worked out nicely for them in that if they get through this PSG one, which I don’t think is a disaster anyway, but if Liverpool do get through this one, then [they are only] Club Brugge or Aston Villa away from getting to a European Cup semi-final. It’s not as bad as has been made out. and it’s not a bad thing for Liverpool, if they were to face Real Madrid, to do it over two legs as well.
“I look at all the games that Liverpool could have, and starting with this PSG tie and then anyone who come after that is very winnable. What we’re seeing at the moment, and particularly the way [Liverpool have] come back into form recently, is the best team in Europe – the chances to prove it are there now, and they hopefully go and do that, starting with the PSG game.”
Liverpool have already beaten AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig and Real Madrid in this season’s edition of the Champions League, and the Reds will be confident of advancing past anyone they meet along the way to the final in Munich.
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