Arne Slot may have to navigate the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain next week without up to four key Liverpool players if things don’t go their way in the first match.
Liverpool resume their Champions League campaign on Wednesday night as they travel to Paris to face PSG at the Parc des Princes. This match marks the first of two legs between the European powerhouses, with the return fixture set for Anfield next week.
However, ahead of that crucial second leg, four of Liverpool’s key players risk suspension if they receive yellow cards in Paris. According to Champions League rules, any player accumulating three yellow cards from the first match through the quarterfinals will be suspended for the following game. Unfortunately for Liverpool, all previous bookings are only reset after the quarterfinal stage.
Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, Harvey Elliott, and Darwin Núñez each picked up two yellow cards during the group stage, leaving them just one booking away from missing the return leg at Anfield. Given this, Slot might opt to manage their playing time on Wednesday to ensure their availability for the decisive match.
Slot will be especially concerned about Konaté, who has played the full 90 minutes in five of Liverpool’s Champions League games this season. If the French defender is suspended for the second leg, Joe Gomez’s season-ending injury would likely force Slot to rely on Jarrell Quansah, who has recently covered for Trent Alexander-Arnold due to Conor Bradley’s injury.
Mac Allister’s potential absence would also be a major concern, as the midfielder has been a key figure in Liverpool’s European campaign, starting six out of their eight Champions League matches.
On the PSG side, the only player at risk of missing the return fixture is Fabián Ruiz, who will be suspended for the Anfield clash if he receives a yellow card from referee Davide Massa in the first leg.
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