PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN are optimistic that superstar duo Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will be fit to face Liverpool in Wednesday’s crunch Champions League clash.
PSG go into the game at the Parc des Princes in third place in Group C, and a defeat against last season’s runners-up, coupled with a win for Napoli at home to Red Star Belgrade, would condemn the French side to an early elimination.
Mbappe and Neymar both suffered injuries playing in international friendly matches last week, and watched Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Toulouse from the stands.
Both of those players have scored 13 goals this season, while Edinson Cavani has 10 in all competitions.
“They’re getting better every day, we have time before now and Wednesday. It’s good for us. I think they’ll be able to play,” was coach Thomas Tuchel’s optimistic assessment at the weekend.
The stakes are almost too high for PSG not to field their pair, even if there is a risk.
PSG are a point behind both Liverpool and Napoli, so really need a win to reduce the pressure before going to Belgrade on the final matchday next month.
Being eliminated from the Champions League before Christmas would be catastrophic for a club who have faced fresh allegations of breaches of Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations this month following Football Leaks revelations.
They have also come under fire after investigative website Mediapart reported that club talent scouts subjected potential youth signings to racial profiling, breaking French anti-discrimination laws.
PSG conducted an internal investigation and found “no proven case of discrimination”, but the claims have done little to help the mood around the club.
Veteran Brazilian Dani Alves made his comeback at the weekend after six months out with a knee injury, and his influence could be precious as PSG seek to extend their impressive home record in Europe.
Only Barcelona and Real Madrid have beaten PSG at the Parc des Princes in the Champions League since the Qatari takeover seven years ago, so the challenge facing Liverpool is huge — all the more so given that Klopp’s men have lost their last four games away from Anfield in the competition.
Amid their best ever start to a Premier League season, which continued with a 3-0 win at Watford on Saturday, the Reds also know the stakes are high in Europe.
“It’s going to be a difficult game in Paris and a good game to show how good we are. We go there to try to win, for sure,” Xherdan Shaqiri told the club’s website.
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