Liverpool elevated the concept of a "smash and grab" to an unprecedented level. They owed a great deal to the remarkable Alisson Becker, who claimed that his performance on Wednesday night at the Parc des Princes was the best of his life. Against all odds, the Reds managed to secure a first-leg advantage, leaving the iconic stadium with their heads held high.

The match was a whirlwind of intense action. Liverpool weathered a storm of persistent attacks from the Parisian side. A would-be goal by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was disallowed due to a narrow offside call. Amidst the chaos, Harvey Elliott's clinical finish across the goal sent the traveling Liverpool supporters into a frenzy. This crucial goal put Arne Slot's team in a strong position ahead of the second leg next week.

Currently, Liverpool is still in contention for a domestic and continental treble. Just a few days after Paris Saint-Germain's visit to Anfield, they are set to face Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final. Taking full advantage of Arsenal's struggles in domestic attacking form, Liverpool has established a commanding 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. This advantage is likely to prove insurmountable.

Over the past couple of months, not every Liverpool performance has been dazzling. However, at this stage of the season, points carry far more weight than the aesthetics of a display. The Reds have shown remarkable consistency, taking at least one point from each of their last 24 matches in the English top flight.

In the history of the Premier League, only once has a team on an unbeaten run of 24 games or more lost to the team at the bottom of the table. Manchester United's 29-game unbeaten streak came to an end against Wolverhampton Wanderers in February 2011. But Liverpool can find solace in the fact that Arne Slot's side has scored at least twice in 18 consecutive home matches. This statistic should alleviate any lingering concerns.

Separated from their hosts by a staggering 58-point chasm in the Premier League rankings, Southampton are on a one-way street back down to the Championship while Liverpool continue on their path to seemingly inevitable top-flight stardom.

Ex-Roma and Torino head coach Ivan Juric has so far been unable to mastermind the great escape required to keep the Saints afloat in the top flight, and for as long as the visitors are on nine points, they risk going down with the lowest Premier League total ever.

Chelsea may have had their own problems of late, but the Blues ran into no problems slaughtering Southampton 4-0 at Stamford Bridge last week, and the Saints' gap to safety now stands at 13 points with just 11 matches left to play.

Despite spending the 2023-24 campaign in the Championship, Southampton have incredibly still managed to lose more Premier League games than all but one team since the start of the 2022-23 season; their 47 top-flight losses in two campaigns is only fewer than Wolverhampton Wanderers' 54 in three.

The Saints at least went down swinging in narrow home defeats to Liverpool in the Premier League and EFL Cup in late 2024, but each of their last six Premier League games at Anfield has ended in defeat, and the Southampton faithful could be forgiven for expecting that streak to stretch to a miserable seven on Saturday.

Despite making the trip to Paris for the Champions League tussle, Dutch attacker Cody Gakpo could not partake in the first leg due to a recent knock, and his availability for Saturday's visit of Southampton is also clouded in a bit of uncertainty.

Slot - banned from the touchline for one more domestic game - will definitely be missing Tyler Morton (shoulder), Joe Gomez (hamstring) and Conor Bradley (hamstring) once more, but the Reds boss will likely consider a few alterations in between two critical contests against PSG.

Match-winner Elliott, Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez are among the contenders to come into the XI, but Mohamed Salah should be retained as the Egypt international looks to score or assist for the 12th Premier League home game running.

On Southampton's side, Juric is sweating over the availability of defenders James Bree and Kyle Walker-Peters after both sustained injuries in the loss to Chelsea, and they are two of seven players on the Saints' infirm list.

Ex-Reds man Adam Lallana (thigh) and Jan Bednarek (fatigue) are also on the doubtful list, although the latter should be passed fit, while Ross Stewart (fitness), Juan Larios (fitness) and Ryan Fraser (calf) are all missing.

However, one piece of good news arrives in the shape of Lesley Ugochukwu's return; the Chelsea loanee could not face his parent club last week but will surely now slot straight back into the engine room.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Elliott, Diaz; Nunez

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Ramsdale; Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Bella-Kotchap, Manning; Fernandes, Ugochukwu, Smallbone, Sulemana; Onuachu