Liverpool stars at risk of Champions League ban as UEFA suspension rules explained | OneFootball

Three Reds players walking disciplinary tightrope

Liverpool take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tonight, with Arne Slot under increasing pressure and their season on a knife edge.

It has been a challenging season for the Reds and they face a tough test against Champions League holders PSG.

Liverpool will need to be cautious not to make an already daunting task even harder, with three players at risk of suspension for next week’s second leg at Anfield.

Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch are all one yellow card away from serving a one-game suspension, having picked up two yellow cards in the Champions League this season.

Virgil van Dijk is among the players who are one yellow card away from a ban

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Conor Bradley is also on two yellow cards, but has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury against Arsenal in January.

UEFA regulations state that all yellow cards expire on completion of the quarter-finals, so Van Dijk, Jones and Gravenberch would potentially be at risk of suspension for the semi-finals were they to avoid a booking in the first leg but instead be booked in the second leg.

Slot has already confirmed that Liverpool will be without Alisson for both legs against PSG, with the goalkeeper having missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.

But Slot remains hopeful that Alexander Isak will make his long-awaited return from an ankle injury in Paris.

PSG, meanwhile, have two players at risk of suspension, with Nuno Mendes and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia having each picked up two yellow cards.

Luis Enrique’s side progressed to the quarter-finals after an 8-2 aggregate victory over Chelsea, while Liverpool overturned a first-leg defeat to Galatasaray to win 4-1 on aggregate.