The Japan Times - Prolific PSG appear a formidable prospect ahead of Liverpool showdown

"We will need to replace him with the team as a whole, and with maybe four, five or six new signings," was the response of coach Luis Enrique at the end of last season when he looked ahead to life without Real Madrid-bound Mbappe.

The Qatar-owned club had just won a French league and cup double and reached the Champions League semi-finals in Luis Enrique's first season in charge, with Mbappe smashing in 44 goals.

With the France captain gone, PSG spent significant money on four new signings in the summer, with Joao Neves, Desire Doue, Willian Pacho and Matvey Safonov all arriving.

However, the decision not to recruit a proven goal-scorer looked to be backfiring as they struggled in Europe while Randal Kolo Muani fell out of favour.

PSG found the net just three times in their first five Champions League games this season, as defeats against Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich left them in danger of elimination before the knockout phase.

Yet their form in the last three months has been sensational, with the statistics speaking for themselves.

Since the 1-0 loss to Bayern on November 26, PSG are undefeated in 22 games in all competitions.

They have won their last five Champions League matches, scoring 21 goals in the process, including 10 over two legs against Brest in the play-off round.

A 4-1 win at home to Lille on Saturday was their 10th straight victory in all competitions and kept them unbeaten domestically this season.

"Absolutely ruthless, at times magnificent," was how sports daily L'Equipe described that display against France's other remaining Champions League representatives.

Paris were outstanding in the first half of that game in particular, and those who have followed the club's progress over the years since the transformative Qatari takeover of 2011 are now pondering whether the current PSG team is the best they have ever seen.

That would be quite a claim, given the players who have turned out for the club in that time, from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mbappe to Lionel Messi and Neymar.

"We are in great form, it's all systems go," said captain Marquinhos, at the club since 2013.

"We really rely on the collective. It has taken a long time. We have progressed step by step. But there are still things we need to improve."

- Chokers no more? -

Ousmane Dembele is now the leader of the PSG attack, having been transformed from a thrilling winger but wayward finisher, into one of the most clinical forwards around.

He has scored 26 goals this season, including 21 in 16 appearances since mid-December while playing mainly through the middle.

Last season, when supporting Mbappe, he contributed just six goals. Bradley Barcola, meanwhile, has gone from five goals in total last season to 17 so far this.

The only doubt in a settled side, and a fully-fit squad, is who will complete the front three at kick-off in Wednesday's first leg at the Parc des Princes.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is still settling in after arriving in January from Napoli, so Doue may get the nod.

The 19-year-old winger, who can also play in midfield, has a touch of Neymar about him and has scored or set up a total of 16 goals since mid-December.

"The team is having a good spell," said Luis Enrique, but he is as wary as anyone else of Liverpool, who represent a significant step up from any team PSG have faced in recent months.

PSG have often choked in big Champions League games over the last decade, but might this time, against the team who finished first in the league phase, be different?

"We are going to be playing against the best team in Europe, who qualified brilliantly, but it is not in our mentality to speculate, to try to protect ourselves, to be defensive," Luis Enrique insisted.

"We will attack and try to turn the game our way."

M.Yamazaki--JT