PSG are the favourites to beat Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final.

This season, a strong PSG side seem the most likely winners as the two teams meet again in the Champions League quarter-finals, with the first leg taking place in Paris on Wednesday.

PSG's victory over Liverpool on penalties in the round of 16 last season was a significant moment in their journey to win the Champions League for the first time in their history.

They had to turn the tables after their 1-0 defeat on their home turf in the first match, where they had been completely in control, before they managed to keep their spirits up at Anfield, and since then, the two teams have gone their separate ways.

Since then, Arne Slot's team has faltered somewhat, although they did enough to make it through the Premier League group stage.

This season has been a huge disappointment, and they will return to Paris in a particularly despondent mood after their bitterly disappointing 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

"It's too difficult."

This led Slot to say that his team lacked fighting spirit, while captain Virgil van Dijk said they had given up and admitted it would be "very difficult" for Liverpool to recover their spirits before PSG.

'But we have a responsibility, not only to ourselves, but especially to the fans, and if we want to achieve something in this season, we must try to do something special in the next three games,' he said, ahead of a Champions League match and a challenging clash with Fulham.

'The fact is, PSG are waiting for us. The match will be tough again. So, we must prepare ourselves as soon as possible," Van Dijk added.

Liverpool have won only one of their last five matches and have suffered 15 defeats this season.

For a team currently standing fifth in the Premier League, the main goal right now should be to secure their place in next season's European competitions.

By contrast, PSG have had a difficult season due to injuries, but they seem to be regaining their peak form at just the right time.

Their 3-1 victory over Toulouse last Friday, featuring an incredible goal from current Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele, has helped them extend their lead in Ligue 1 to four points over second-placed Lens, with one game in hand.

However, the Champions League is what really matters — the French league has even accepted their request to postpone their important away game against Lens on Saturday so they can focus entirely on the match with Liverpool.

"It is thought that improvements are required by us, regardless of the opponent, but it is clear that there are still some things that need to be changed by us," it was said by Luis Enrique.

Dembélé is fully fit and in good form, but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was the driving force in the previous round, when PSG thrashed Chelsea 8-2. Wednesday's match will be their 14th against a Premier League opponent since January 2025.

Ekitike returns to Paris.

However, PSG still have one obvious weakness – they have not found a successful replacement for goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, the hero of the penalty shootout with Liverpool last season, who is now playing for Manchester City.

Lucas Chevalier was brought in to replace the Italian player, but has lost his place to Matvey Safonov, the Russian goalkeeper who made two serious errors that cost his team a goal at the weekend.

"The goalkeeper is just like any other player." "It's not uncommon for players to make mistakes in football," Luis Enrique remarked.

Meanwhile, a key player for the visitors could be Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool's top scorer this season with 17 goals, who will be facing the club where he failed to make an impact in the early stages of his career.

Ekitike, aged 23, joined PSG from Reims in 2022 but only scored four goals in 18 months before moving to Eintracht Frankfurt.

He struggled to break into the starting lineup alongside Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar, but upon returning to his homeland, he is tipped to be a key player for the French national team at the World Cup.

"Hugo is a great player. He's in great form, so we're just hoping he won't play against us," said Dembele of PSG, his international teammate.