Hoping to maintain their 100% record in this Champions League campaign, Paris Saint-Germain will face Villarreal for the first time in their history on Tuesday at Estadio de la Ceramica in eastern Spain.

The reigning two-time champions are one of five teams with a perfect record in the competition so far, beating Barcelona 4-2 on matchday three, while Villarreal sit 19th on three points, losing 4-3 to Liverpool in their last Champions League outing.

Match preview

Competing in their sixth Champions League this season, Villarreal have had some exciting finishes this time around, though not always to their benefit.

Four or more goals have been scored in each of their first three League Phase affairs, with their lone triumph coming at home when they came back to defeat Napoli 3-1.

The two-time Champions League semi-finalists have been anything but stellar defensively in this competition, conceding in 14 straight Champions League encounters, while allowing an average of 3.8 goals per match in those last 10 games.

Inigo Perez has seen his side drop points in two consecutive competitive home matches, but on Tuesday they can win successive Champions League group games at El Madrigal for the first time since 2008.

Villarreal have failed to win their last two League Phase encounters in this competition when leading in the second half, while losing their only match in Europe this season in that scenario at Anfield on matchday three.

El Submarino Amarillo are unbeaten in their two previous Champions League meetings versus French opposition, beating Lille at home in 2005-06 (1-0) and drawing them 0-0 in France that same season.

Three matches into the League Phase, Paris Saint-Germain look intent on becoming just the second team this century to capture three successive Champions League titles, after Real Madrid.

Luis Enrique’s men, who began Ligue 1 without a win in their first three matches, have been dominant in the opening stages of this tournament, following up an impressive 6-1 win over Slovan Bratislava with consecutive 4-2 triumphs over title contenders Manchester City and Barcelona.

Their 14 goals so far match Arsenal’s total from 2010-11 for the joint-most-scored in this competition after three matchdays, and this week they can win their first four Champions League group outings for the first time since 2019.

On Monday, Enrique won his 127th competitive match in charge, the most all-time among managers for Les Parisiens, and this week he can help them set a club record for their longest Champions League unbeaten run, a streak which currently sits at 13 games.

They have won just one of their last three League Phase outings away from home, though they have not lost a Champions League group match on Spanish soil since November 2015 (1-0 at Real Madrid).

Les Parisiens can claim a 10th consecutive triumph across all competitions on Tuesday, conceding a goal or fewer in four of their last five competitive games as the visitors.

Villarreal Champions League form:

Villarreal form (all competitions):

Paris Saint-Germain Champions League form:

Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions):

Team News

Several Villarreal players are questionable due to muscular problems, including Nathan Saliba, Alassane Diatta, Juan Foyth and Ilias Akhomach.

Santiago Mourino and Tani Oluwaseyi lead them with two goals each in this phase of the competition, as the latter scored late against the Reds on matchday three.

Their other strikes on that occasion came courtesy of Sergi Cardona and French-born striker Georges Mikautadze, who plays his international football for Georgia.

At PSG, Marquinhos and Ousmane Dembele are dealing with hamstring strains, Nuno Mendes and Alessandro Longoni have leg injuries and Georgian international Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is out because of a cruciate ligament tear.

Ferran Torres, who previous played for one of Villarreal’s main regional rivals Valencia, is tied for the team lead with Dembele on three goals in the League Phase.

Meanwhile, Desire Doue has scored in back-to-back Champions League games, as he, Spaniard Fabian Ruiz, plus Lucas Hernandez and Vitinha netted versus Barca.

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Gulacsi; Mourino, Navarro, Veiga, Cardona; Comesana, Gueye; Oluwaseyi; Buchanan, Mikautadze, Moleiro

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:

Safonov; Hakimi, Beraldo, Pacho, Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Fernandez; Doue, Torres, Akliouche

We say: Villarreal 1-3 Paris Saint-Germain

Villarreal have been consistently poor defensively in this competition, and although PSG do not have their most potent attacking players available, they should have more than enough to punish a side as vulnerable at the back as the Spaniards have been all season.

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