# PSG's perfect run puts Villarreal's midfield under pressure

Paris Saint-Germain can make it four wins from four in the league phase, while Villarreal need a result to keep their campaign moving. The hosts have lost Ilias Akhomach and face further doubts over key players, while Paris also travel without four injured members of their squad.

Preview · Champions League
Editorial board · 2 November 2026

- Villarreal v Paris Saint-Germain
- Kick-off: 2026-11-03 20:00 UTC
- Ground: Estadio de la Cerámica
- Status: To come

Paris have made the opening of this Champions League campaign look remarkably straightforward. Three wins from three, fourteen goals scored and victories over Manchester City and Barcelona have put the holders in a position to extend their perfect start in Spain.

Villarreal have offered a different picture. Their 3-1 win over Napoli showed what they can produce at home, while scoring three times at Liverpool demonstrated their ability to hurt elite opposition away from home. But the recent 1-0 defeat to Espanyol was another reminder that their performances have not yet settled into a reliable pattern.

The central contest may decide how much of that attacking freedom Villarreal can find. Paris have the numbers to control midfield through Vitinha, João Neves and Fabián Ruiz. If they can move the ball beyond Villarreal's central pairing and find their forwards between the lines, the hosts will be forced to defend deeper than they would like. Their best response is likely to come through the space left behind Paris's advancing full-backs.

Both sides also arrive with meaningful absences. Villarreal are without Ilias Akhomach and have concerns over Gerard Moreno, Juan Foyth and Nathan Saliba. Paris are missing Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Marquinhos and Nuno Mendes. Those losses reduce options at both ends, but Paris retain greater depth in the positions that should shape the contest.

## Our call

Paris should have enough control and attacking depth to extend their perfect start, although Villarreal's direct threat gives them a route into the game.

## Coming in

Villarreal have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five matches in all competitions, with a 5-0 cup victory over Manacor sitting alongside defeats to Liverpool and Espanyol. Paris have won all five of their latest matches, beating Le Havre, Lyon, Barcelona, Strasbourg and Manchester City.

## Between them

This is the first competitive meeting between Villarreal and Paris Saint-Germain, leaving no previous head-to-head pattern to draw on.

## The hinge

If Villarreal cannot prevent Vitinha and Paris's midfield from finding space between the lines, the visitors can take control; the hosts must make the space behind the advancing full-backs count.

## Missing

Villarreal will be without Ilias Akhomach, while Gerard Moreno, Juan Foyth and Nathan Saliba are doubts. Akhomach and Foyth have muscular problems, while the reporting on Moreno and Saliba does not consistently establish a more specific diagnosis. Paris Saint-Germain will be without Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Marquinhos and Nuno Mendes through injury.