On this evening in the Old Continent, the tournament that is of the biggest interest to football fans is kicking off - the UEFA Champions League. 32 teams are competing for the prestigious trophy.
On Tuesday, the first eight matches of groups A-D will take place. This season, there are changes in the Champions League schedule - two matches will now be broadcasted at 19:55, while the rest will take place at a new time of 22:00.
The Champions League draw immediately gifted a few high-profile matches, but today's match that will receive the most attention is the match at "Anfield" stadium, where "Liverpool" will host the threatening Paris "Saint-Germain".
Both teams in the local championships this season have not had any problems so far. If losing the first points after five rounds in the "Ligue 1" championship is a common occurrence for PSG, this form of the sport gives "Liverpool" even more hope.
"Liverpool" in the first five matches in the English Premier League has only celebrated victories. "The Reds" have already defeated "West Ham", "Crystal Palace", "Brighton", "Leicester", and London's "Tottenham".
Jurgen Klopp's protégés, along with London's "Chelsea", have collected the same number of points, while "Man City" trails behind by only two points. Despite the successful start of the season for the "Reds", achieving the highest goals in the Premier League will not be easy.
PSG team in France has a completely different situation. If they fail to win the country's championship this season, it would not only be a sensation but a true catastrophe.
The Parisians in the "Ligue 1" championships have not faced any serious challenges - they have defeated teams like "Caen", "Guingamp", "Angers", "Nimes", and "Saint-Etienne".
In the last five matches, PSG has shown better results in attack - 17 goals scored in the opponents' nets. J. Klopp's proteges have scored 11 precise strikes, of course, the opponents' capabilities were at different levels.
"Liverpool" may have to play without their strongest attacking trio. In the weekend's English Premier League match, Roberto Firmino suffered an eye injury, and Jurgen Klopp until yesterday could not say whether the Brazilian would be ready to take to the field. In addition, today Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana will also be unavailable.
There are no expected significant tactical changes from "The Reds" - "Liverpool" should play their usual 4-3-3 formation. In the absence of R. Firmino, it is likely that Mohamed Salah will be pushed more towards the middle, with support from Sadio Mane and Xherdan Shaqiri. The candidacy of Daniel Sturridge for the central attacking midfielder position is also not ruled out.
PSG also have painful losses - Gianluigi Buffon and Marco Verratti will be absent due to disqualifications, and both full-backs, Dani Alves and Layvin Kurzawa, are still recovering from injuries.
The Parisians' formation in these matches should not be surprising - Thomas Tuchel usually plays with a 4-3-3 formation. Tuchel's biggest dilemma is the defensive line, without the main engine of the team - M. Verratti. It is expected that in this match the German will surprise and place Brazilian Marquinhos in the defensive midfielder position.
Predicted starting line-ups:
"Liverpool": (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Gomez, Robertson; Milner, Henderson, Keita; Shaqiri, Salah, Mane.
PSG: (4-3-3) Areola; Meunier, Thiago Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat; Marquinhos, Rabiot, Di Maria; Mbappé, Cavani, Neymar.
Interesting facts:
Both clubs met in the 1996-97 season. In the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, PSG defeated "Liverpool" with a combined score of 3:2. The Parisians won the first match at home against "The Reds" with a score of 3:0.
This will be PSG's 11th season in the UEFA Champions League tournament and the seventh in a row. From French clubs, only "Lyon" has participated in this tournament more times - 15.
"Liverpool" will face a French team in the Champions League for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The memories are not the best - a loss to "Lyon" at home with a score of 1:2 and a draw.
In total, "Liverpool" has faced French teams 12 times in Europe - seven victories, one draw, and four defeats. In the last three matches at their stadium, "Liverpool" lost twice.
Historically, English teams have not been favorable to PSG either - in the last four matches, there have been no victories. In addition, in 12 matches, PSG managed to keep their goal dry only against "Chelsea" in the 2004-05 season.
In the field, two Champions League kings of assists will meet - James Milner last season equaled Neymar's record from 2016-17 (9).
