Paris Saint-Germain have won all three of their Champions League games this season, and on Tuesday night they can set a new club record. Luis Enrique’s team go to Villarreal unbeaten in their last 13 games in the competition, which equals the best run in PSG’s history.
The game kicks off at 21:00 CET at the Estadio de la Cerámica. It is the first time the two clubs have ever played each other.
Goals everywhere
PSG have scored 14 goals in three Champions League games. They won 6-1 against Slovan Bratislava, then beat Manchester City 4-2. Last time out they beat Barcelona 4-2 in a wild game that finished with two late PSG goals.
They are flying in France too. On Friday they won 5-1 at Le Havre, the night Achraf Hakimi scored his first hat-trick.
Vitinha is one to watch. The Portugal midfielder has 12 Champions League goals, one fewer than Deco, who is fourth on the list of Portuguese scorers in the competition. He has scored in his last two Champions League games.
A long list of absentees
Luis Enrique will have to do without some big names. Ousmane Dembélé and Marquinhos are both out. Nuno Mendes is missing too, as is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Hakimi is in the squad after his hat-trick.
Villarreal need points
Iñigo Pérez’s Villarreal have had a mixed start in Europe. They lost 3-2 to Borussia Dortmund, beat Napoli 3-1 at home and then lost 4-3 to Liverpool. Three points from three games leaves them with work to do.
Their league form has not helped. Villarreal lost 1-0 to Espanyol in their last game, and they have a few injury worries of their own, with Ilias Akhomach and Gerard Moreno both expected to miss out.
Our take
PSG are the favourites, even with so many players missing. They score in almost every game, and their squad is deep enough to cover for Dembélé and Marquinhos for one night.
Villarreal will not make it easy, though. Their only home game in Europe this season ended in a 3-1 win over Napoli, and their fans will be loud. Both sides have scored and conceded in all three of their games so far, so goals look likely again.
Can PSG make it 14 unbeaten and take the record for themselves? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Vitinha by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0), Achraf Hakimi by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0).
