It could be the toughest of tests for the Reds who haven't won any of their last five away games against French sides in Europe, drawing two and losing three, whilst PSG are on a five-game winning streak in the Champions League, scoring 21 goals and only conceding three during the current run. Not since 1994/95 have they won six in a row in the competition.
The Parisiens have looked a much more coherent outfit since Kylian Mbappe decided to swap the French capital for Madrid, and Ousmane Dembele has really come into his own this season.
Eighteen goals from PSG's league total of 66 scored, means the French World Cup winner leads the top-flight scoring charts in 2024/25.
Six more goals in the Champions League in the eight games he's played in the competition this season is three more than any of his teammates, clearly showing how vital he has become for Les Rouge et Bleu.
It's his best scoring streak in the competition to date, having managed two for Dortmund in 2016/17, one for Barca in 2017/18 and three more for the Catalans in 2018/19. No Champions League goals in 2019/20 were followed by three more for Barcelona in 2020/21, none in 2021/22, one in 2022/23 and then, after signing with PSG, two in 2023/24.
Arguably, he's always had to defer to the likes of Lionel Messi and Mbappe in scoring situations before the current campaign, so the wider responsibility he now has under Luis Enrique is clearly working for him.
He will of course have nightmares about facing Liverpool. Surely no one can forget his last-kick-of-the-game miss for Barcelona back in the first leg of the 2019 semi-final when one-on-one with Alisson which, had he scored, would've seen Barca take a 4-0 win to Anfield which, arguably, the Reds wouldn't have come back from.
In many respects, that miss was symptomatic of Dembele's play at the time; promising much but delivering little.
36 goals in all competitions for a winger in four seasons (from 18/19 to 22/23) might not, on the face of it, appear to be a woeful statistic, until you compare it to the current campaign where he has exactly half of that total in just 24 league games.
Five assists in the Champions League during that period too isn't the kind of return that Barca would've been expecting for a player who cost them, in the end, €148 million, making him their most expensive ever signing in the process.
His electric pace and ability to use both feet with consummate ease always made him a difficult customer for opponents, but he was often found wanting. Clearly, 32 goals and 18 assists since joining PSG less than two years ago is a marked improvement as are the chances he creates.
Domestically he has improved in all aspects, but that might be expected to be the case given how well placed PSG have been in the various competitions (Ligue 1, Coupe de France, French Champions Trophy).
23 chances created in last season's Champions League was a career high for Dembele in the competition, and he's followed it up by creating 19 more in 24/25. By comparison, his most chances created in the Champions League whilst at Barca were 15 in the 18/19 season, with a low of just two chances created in 21/22.
His passing accuracy of 76.9 per cent in the 24/25 Champions League is far from his best, and you'd have to go back at least four seasons to find a consistent mid-to-late-70s percentage in this regard. In all competitions his passing accuracy has actually improved since 2020/21, to a career high of 90.1 per cent in this season's Coupe de France.
More responsibility and purpose are evident in his play, and he remains omnipresent in the attacking areas of the pitch in most games - as the below graphic against Brest shows.
Dembele's 25 ball recoveries in this season's Champions League are only bettered by his 34 last season, also with PSG. 16, seven, 12, eight and 10 ball recoveries in the competition while at Barca were poor returns by comparison, and again hint at how much harder the wide man is now working in Paris.
As does the number of times he has won possession back in the competition: 25 occasions this season and 34 last, are so much better than previous campaigns.
Never a great tackler, Dembele will absolutely have to improve in this area. Just two successful tackles from a total of five made in eight Champions League games in 24/25 is a remarkable stat.
Given how strong Liverpool will be expected to be in both of the Round of 16 games, Dembele has to show some mettle in terms of putting his foot in, particularly in Wednesday night's game, in order to put a marker down for the return.
He isn't averse to doing mind, as his 10 successful tackles from 15 made last season were the best return of his career in the competition.
His xG is interesting too. At 5.17, this is only bettered by his 24/25 Ligue 1 xG rating of 12.58 and his LaLiga xG from back in 20/21 of 5.51.
The unpredictable threat that he carries will have Andrew Robertson working overtime, ditto Trent Alexander-Arnold if Luis Enrique decides to station Dembele over on the opposite side of the pitch.
That will stop the Liverpool pair in an attacking sense and, among full-backs with 300+ minutes played in the competition this season, Robertson (16.6) and Alexander-Arnold (13.9) are the two players averaging the most line-breaking passes per 90.
With players such as Bradley Barcola, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and others all doing their part going forward for the hosts, Liverpool are unlikely to be able to settle at any point or develop their own rhythm in the game.
The visitors might also be wary that they have lost each of their last three games in the knockout stages of the Champions League, and if Dembele is given more of a free, central role in which to wreak havoc too, the Reds might well be facing a deficit again for the second leg at Anfield.
