PSV Eindhoven vs. Liverpool: 10 key things to know ahead of final group match

January 28, 2025
Sam Millne

Liverpool travel to PSV Eindhoven, aiming to finish top of the 36-team Champions League league phase. Here are 10 key things to know ahead of the match.

PSV Eindhoven vs. Liverpool

Champions League (8) | Philips Stadion
January 29, 2025 | 8pm (GMT)

So far, Liverpool have been almost perfect in the Champions League, winning seven from seven and conceding just two goals.

In fact, two more wins would equal the Reds’ best-ever run of consecutive victories in Europe. In their way, though, are Dutch champions PSV who still have plenty to play for.

1. How can Liverpool finish top?

Liverpool have already confirmed their their top-two finish and therefore will play one of the 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th-placed teams in the round of 16, with the second leg at home.

Liverpool are not guaranteed to have the second leg at home after the last 16.

There isn’t any real difference between finishing top and second, except at least an extra £232,000 in the club coffers.

However, having won their first seven, the Reds will want to finish the job and finish top of the pile. To do so, they only need draw or see Barcelona drop points.

2. Joe Gomez in training & Arne Slot to rotate

Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones remain sidelined through injury, but Joe Gomez did return to team training ahead of the match. He won’t feature on Wednesday, though.

With the Reds having already wrapped up their top-two finish, Slot is to rest some of his key players ahead of a tough game at Bournemouth on Saturday.

None of Alisson, Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz or Gomez will even travel to the Netherlands.

This leaves playing time for the likes of Harvey Elliott, Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas. In goal, Caoimhin Kelleher should also start, as might Jarell Quansah and Wataru Endo at centre-back.

Predicted Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Bradley, Quansah, Endo, Robertson; Morton, Nyoni, Elliott; Chiesa, Nunez, Gakpo

3. PSV’s predicament

This game isn’t a dead rubber, despite little riding on it for Liverpool. PSV still have the chance to finish in the top eight, though it looks improbable at the moment.

They are currently in 19th position with 11 points. Above them, seventh-placed Atalanta have 14 points and eighth-placed Bayer Leverkusen have 13 points along with Aston Villa, Monaco, Feyenoord, Lille and Brest.

4. PSV’s absentees

PSV come into the match on the back of a 3-2 win over NAC Breda in the Eredivisie.

The result keeps them top of the Dutch top flight, but not everything is rosy for manager Peter Bosz, who has several absences with which to contend on Wednesday.

Ivan Perisic would usually be replaced by Noa Lang on the left, due to the Croatian’s ineligibility until the knockout phase, but Bosz has said Lang is “not yet fully fresh.”

He added that defender Jerdy Scouten ‘will not play at all’, while key centre-back Ryan Flamingo is suspended after being sent off in their latest 3-2 European win over Red Star.

Fellow centre-half Adamo Nagalo “could be back with the squad” if training goes well on Tuesday, though.

Attacking midfielder Malick Tillman is out too, with an ankle injury, and full-back Sergino Dest is still sidelined following ACL damage.

5. Cody Gakpo’s return to PSV

Cody Gakpo, #ForeverEindhovenaar ?? pic.twitter.com/hDI0ahvv74

— PSV (@PSV) February 23, 2023

Wednesday will be a memorable occasion for Gakpo as he returns to his hometown club where he developed from boy into Dutch international.

The winger made his first-team debut as an 18-year-old before playing a further 158 for the club, until he made his initial £37 million transfer to Liverpool in January 2023.

During his time at PSV, he set up 55 and scored 50 goals as well as winning the Dutch Cup twice, in 2022 and 2023.

6. Arne Slot’s 27th match vs. PSV

Slot has faced PSV coach Bosz four times in his career, winning once, but he has faced PSV as a manager on nine occasions overall.

The first was with AZ Alkmaar and the rest with Feyenoord – and he has an equal amount of wins, draws and defeats (three each). His teams have failed to score only once.

At the Philips Stadion, Slot has won twice in four visits – winning 4-0 in each of his first two trips, with AZ Alkmaar in 2019 and Feyenoord in September 2021. He drew his last visit, 2-2 in March 2024.

Slot faced PSV as a player 17 times, winning twice. He also scored two goals, both coming in draws.

7. Ibrahima Konate & Alexis Mac Allister at suspension risk

• UPDATE: Neither Konate or Mac Allister will travel to play PSV

Part of Slot’s team selection could take into account the fact that Ibrahima Konate and Alexis Mac Allister are both one booking away from missing the first leg of the round of 16.

Yellow cards are not wiped again until the completion of the quarter-finals, so there is actually an argument that you would rather have them suspended for the first leg than the second leg.

8. Final matchday madness

All 18 games of the league phase’s final round kick off at the same time, which should create a chaotic, exciting night of drama in the Champions League.

As well as the fight to finish in the top eight to avoid the play-off round, there are also big stories towards the bottom of the table, most notably Man City needing to beat Club Brugge at home to qualify.

Among the games to keeps an eye on are Aston Villa vs. Celtic, Barcelona vs. Atalanta, Brest vs. Real Madrid and Stuttgart vs. PSG.

Just three points separate the 17 teams from 24th-placed Stuttgart up to eighth-placed Bayer Leverkusen.