Kick-off at Parc des Princes is 8pm GMT as the respective leaders of the Premier League and Ligue 1 begin their duel for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Ahead of the encounter, Liverpoolfc.com spoke to Get French Football News editor-in-chief Luke Entwistle about what to expect from the hosts...

PSG have been completely dominant in the league. They are unbeaten domestically in both Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France as well, albeit they've had a fairly friendly draw to get through to the semi-finals. They've been entirely dominant after a few doubts at the start of the season, especially around November time regarding their performances in terms of having a lethal finisher. But even when they were having a 'down period', they didn't lose any matches.

A striker is what has been missing, and every opposition manager has been asked the same question after each game over whether this PSG side is better than last year's and the answer each time is always a resounding 'yes'. That is despite the departure of star man Kylian Mbappe. All the signs have been towards a more collective unit out of possession and therefore they're better in possession as well. They will wrap up the Ligue 1 title – a fourth in a row – quite comfortably with them holding a 13-point advantage currently, which means they can really focus on their major objective of trying to win the Champions League.

The campaign in Europe didn't get off to the best start. They got a bit of a free pass in their opener against Girona when they scored an own goal in the 90th minute to hand PSG victory. It was a game that sort of summed up the concerns about this side – notably the lack of a natural No.9 and a real natural finisher. Bradley Barcola had been great domestically, but hadn't recreated his form in the Champions League and no-one else in the first five games really stepped up in the final third to deliver the goals. It's what left them at risk of potentially dropping out of the competition.

It really had to be a big turnaround in 2025. They were alongside Manchester City at the start of this year as the ones who could be the big casualty of the league phase. It would've been deserved at the time, but the change seemed to come once they started scoring more domestically, which carried into Europe. Ousmane Dembele also moved into the No.9 position in the middle and has had an unexpected goalscoring streak.

He's scored 18 goals already in 2025 alone and has 32 goal contributions overall this season so far. It's really been him that has made the difference, which has turned PSG's fortunes in the Champions League around. They ended up finishing quite strongly and then in the knockout play-off round they won 10-0 against Brest over the tie. There was little doubt they were ever going to make their way through that draw and having got over the 'scare', if you can call it that, at the start of the Champions League campaign I think you can count them as one of the favourites to win the whole competition.

Anyone who watched Luis Enrique's Spain side will see lots of similarities in how he sets out his PSG team. There is an element of flexibility but he's often deployed a 4-3-3 with a false nine. He doesn't like a big target man. He prefers someone with lots of technical ability in that sector. He does allow a decent amount of freedom for his forwards. It is very much a possession-based style of play. He emphasises control and he likes to make sure that through maintaining possession and build-up that they are well set to have a solid defence should they lose the ball.

They don't like to be covering big spaces out of possession, which is why they don't actually concede that many fouls. It's something that's quite noticeable about this team how often they look in control when they don't have the ball. They're not very susceptible to transitions, which is where part of PSG's dominance comes from in Ligue 1 – a very transitional league. It's this total-control ethos brought in by Luis Enrique, they like to have complete control over the game in all phases.

There are plenty in this PSG team. You go from the back first and Willian Pacho has looked brilliant since he arrived last summer. He's very solid defensively and difficult to get past. He'll possibly be allocated to deal with Mohamed Salah as he often plays on the left of the centre-backs and he could be put out a little bit wider to try and control that side. Achraf Hakimi is the joint-top assister in the Champions League and is a huge threat down the right flank from full-back. Joao Neves is also very technically gifted and combative in midfield.

But if you're talking about players who are getting the goals and the assists, it's difficult to look past Ousmane Dembele as the key man. We're only right at the start of March and he has 18 goals already since the start of the calendar year, which is incredible for a winger who has never really been prolific, though his move into the middle has paid off. He will be a big threat and someone that Liverpool will need to pay extra attention to. Desire Doue is also seen in France as one of the brightest prospects in French football. He has a very rounded profile and can play out on the wings and in midfield. He has a very high technical ceiling.

There's also Bradley Barcola who has come back into a good patch of form getting goals and assists. January arrival Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has joined this attacking line as well, which means there is so much to contend with. That's why, along with Liverpool, I think they're seen as one of the most exciting front lines in Europe.

There is huge optimism in Paris. Luis Enrique has called this a 50-50 tie, and I think that's how it's being viewed in France. Liverpool are a brilliant team, perhaps the best in Europe, but domestic viewers who are watching PSG week in and week out are saying they don't have a lot to envy. They're in a great run of form. They're blowing teams away domestically and progressed through the play-off tie with a 10-0 aggregate win. They defeated Manchester City by a decent scoreline and there's a feeling they've really turned a corner and can be considered among Europe's elite and as one of the strong favourites for this title.

There's no chance of PSG altering their ethos or playing style to try and see out a draw or anything like that. I think they will try to impose their playing style, which is based on controlling all phases of play and retaining the ball for long periods. I think that will be the game plan – to play the way they have done all season both domestically and in Europe. They'll want to take a lead to Anfield, which will be a hugely difficult task but in Paris it is not perceived as an impossible one by any means.

Este artículo ha sido traducido automáticamente y, si bien se han hecho todos los esfuerzos razonables para garantizar la precisión, es posible que se produzcan algunos errores en la traducción. Consulte la versión original en inglés del artículo para conocer la versión oficial.