Darwin Nunez might have produced one of his more positive performances of the season against Southampton at the weekend, but it would be a surprise to see him in the Liverpool starting line-up against Paris Saint-Germain today.
The Uruguayan forward looked to be losing his head in the first half, kicking out at Kyle Walker-Peters after Liverpool had fallen behind, but improved after the break, scoring the Reds’ equalizer before winning a penalty.
Still, one suspects Nunez only started against Southampton in the first place because Arne Slot was keen to preserve the injury-prone Diogo Jota ahead of the second leg against PSG.
Cody Gakpo’s recent injury struggles render him unlikely to start but he is set to be on the bench after returning to training earlier this week. That means Liverpool’s front three effectively picks itself, with Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz expected to flank Jota. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai only played a half each against Southampton so should be fresh to take their places in the line-up, while Ryan Gravenberch is the obvious pick at the base of midfield.
Curtis Jones was hooked at half-time on Saturday and it would be a surprise to see him start, while Harvey Elliott, despite the positive impact he made against both PSG and Saints, will probably have to settle for a place on the bench again. Alisson is obviously going to start between the sticks, and the back four also feels fairly obvious: Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson as the full-backs, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate through the middle.
(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
In short, Slot is expected to name the same team that lined up in the Parc des Princes six days ago, and he will of course be hoping for an improved performance on the one we saw in the first leg, otherwise Liverpool will be in for a very tricky night.
Predicted Liverpool starting line-up versus Paris Saint-Germain: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Diaz, Jota
