It has been a memorable year for Thomas Meunier. The right-back helped Belgium finish third at the World Cup – scoring the opening goal against England in the deciding match – after a domestic treble with Paris Saint-Germain. And the success keeps coming. With a new manager, Thomas Tuchel, in charge, PSG have made a record-breaking start to the French championship, Saturday’s slightly underwhelming 1-0 victory over Toulouse, thanks to a super goal from Edinson Cavani, making it 14 straight wins.

But despite all these positives, Meunier knows that one bad result could seriously change his outlook. Defeat against Liverpool at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday could spell disaster for PSG and their expensively assembled team. Combined with a victory for Napoli over Red Star Belgrade, it would eliminate PSG from the Champions League and leave them struggling even to make the Europa League.

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“Some might say the Europa League would give us a real chance of winning a trophy,” says Meunier, “although that wouldn’t be so easy while you still have teams like Arsenal and Chelsea around. But let’s be honest – being knocked out of the Champions League would be catastrophic. PSG’s hegemony in the French championship is clear and now people expect more. A Champions League elimination would be a disaster.”

PSG beat Toulouse without Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, who were injured last week on international duty. Tuchel said he hoped his two biggest stars would be ready for a game against Liverpool that will see PSG’s German manager again coming face to face with his compatriot Jürgen Klopp.

Klopp came out on top at Anfield in September, when Liverpool won much more convincingly than the 3-2 scoreline suggests.

“Liverpool put us under intense pressure and they were better than us on the night,” says Meunier, a former centre-forward who scored PSG’s first goal at Anfield. “But we managed to come back to 2-2 despite being dominated, which was good news in the circumstances, and I think we’re going to create as much trouble for them as they did for us.”

Although PSG are dominating on the domestic front, with talk in France of the club going through the season unbeaten, their Champions League form has been less convincing. After thrashing Red Star 6-1, with a Neymar hat-trick, they needed a 93rd-minute goal from Ángel Di María to secure a 2-2 home draw with Napoli after being outplayed for large parts of the encounter. The return three weeks ago brought a more positive performance from PSG, with Napoli seemingly happy at the end to hold out for a 1-1 draw.

Tuchel was encouraged by the way his team went about the task in that hostile environment but he knows he will be judged on what happens against Liverpool. Meunier trusts in the new manager.

“He’s very smart and he’s a fine psychologist, too. He knows how to behave with each and every one of us. He has a humane approach that certain dictator-style managers don’t have. He knows who needs a handshake and who needs the hug and these little things are important. We have a lot of players in our team who don’t have much left to learn tactically, many who already played in other really big clubs, but everybody needs psychological support and encouragement. That’s what enables players to feel liberated out on the pitch and Thomas Tuchel has really grasped that.”

Although no French club have gone through a league season unbeaten the exploit is not as rare as you might think in Europe. Since Arsenal’s Invincibles from the 2003-04 season the feat has twice been achieved by Porto, once by Juventus and also by Celtic in 2016‑17. Meunier believes all sources of motivation can be useful to spur on a team used to domestic success.

“There’s nothing to stop us thinking about those kind of records and I think it’s quite possible to not lose a single game in a season,” he says. “Fixing goals can help concentrate minds, too, and we certainly have the quality to aim high. What do we want? To go through the season unbeaten? To aim for the 100 points? To have the leading goalscorer, the best passer? When I was with Bruges the manager fixed us targets regularly and the players really adhered; it became a fun thing. For now, though, at PSG, the players don’t really talk about it. One thing at a time.”

Tuchel has also found a way to accommodate Neymar, Mbappé, Cavani and Di María and that often means a three-man defence around Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and either Presnel Kimpembe or Thilo Kehrer, with Meunier and Juan Bernat – who scored at Napoli – employed as flying full-backs, contributing as much offensively as defensively.

“Everyone has to play their part so that we have the right balance but I think three at the back is the best choice for us right now,” says Meunier, who has featured in almost every game this season in the absence of the injured Dani Alves, who played his first minutes as a substitute against Toulouse.

“We have great attacking options and we have to make the most of them. Against Liverpool we’ll also have to show we can match them physically but I think we’re ready for the challenge. It’s time to show the whole world that we have the class and the charisma to make a mark on the Champions League.”