A Liverpool win tonight could come at a cost as Arne Slot sweating on five Reds players | OneFootball

For Liverpool, the mission tonight is theoretically simple – get a result against Paris Saint-Germain which’ll ensure progression to the Champions League quarter-finals, even if it comes at a cost.

The first leg saw the Ligue 1 giants dominate possession and it was a relatively quiet night for referee Davide Massa, who awarded just 10 free kicks and showed one yellow card to either team.

However, the identity of the Reds player who entered the notebook was significant, as the risk of him being suspended for future games has now increased.

Five Liverpool players at risk of suspension if booked tonight

UEFA’s disciplinary rules for their club competitions state that, ‘from the first match in the group stage, players and team officials are suspended for the next competition match after three cautions, which did not result in a red card, as well as following any subsequent odd-numbered caution (fifth, seventh, ninth, etc.)’.

That leaves five Liverpool players at risk of being suspended for the first leg of the quarter-finals, should they be booked tonight and the Reds advance to the last eight of the Champions League.

Alexis Mac Allister has had four yellow cards in the tournament this season, already serving a ban for the win over Girona in December, while last week Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson and Harvey Elliott were joined on two cautions by Virgil van Dijk (WhoScored).

A further six LFC players have one yellow card in Europe so far this term, although one of those (Joe Gomez) is currently sidelined with a hamstring problem.

(Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

No cheap yellow cards tonight, please!

If Liverpool’s defence are worked as hard tonight as they were in the first leg in Paris, Slot may well be watching some of the match behind his fingers as he begs for Konate, Van Dijk and Robertson not to pick up any cheap bookings.

With Gomez not expected back for another while yet, our centre-back options for the first leg of the quarter-final could be quite thin on the ground – that is, of course, if we get past PSG at Anfield. A defensive partnership of Jarell Quansah and Wataru Endo against either Aston Villa or Club Brugge (should we get through) isn’t out of the question.

If the Reds get the required result tonight and have nobody booked, those who are on one yellow card or fewer can rest a lot easier, as all previous yellows are wiped on completion of the quarter-finals.

The perfect scenario would’ve been for Liverpool to be in such a comfortable position that the players who are one booking away from a ban could’ve been rested tonight. However, after facing 27 shots at the Parc des Princes, we won’t complain about having a lead to take back to Anfield!

First and foremost, let’s hope we can finish the job on home soil, and that a draw or win doesn’t come at the cost of missing one or more crucial players for the first leg of the quarter-finals.