Nathan Saliba out of Villarreal squad for Champions League clash with PSG despite return from injury
After missing two matches with a muscle injury, Canadian midfielder Nathan Saliba looked set to return to the Villarreal squad for their biggest match of the season so far, but did not make the matchday 18 to play Paris Saint-Germain. The Yellow Submarine host back-to-back Champions League winners PSG at Estadio de la Cerámica for their fourth match of the 2026/27 Group Phase.
Head coach Iñigo Pérez said in his pregame press conference on Tuesday that Saliba has returned to training and will be available against PSG, though Saliba did not end up making the matchday 18 - despite being named to Canada's squad for November's Nations League quarterfinals against Guatemala. Tajon Buchanan gets the start against PSG, while Tani Oluwaseyi is available off the bench.
Not only is it a big occasion to host the top club in the continent over the past couple of seasons, but Villarreal want a win to keep pace with the other teams chasing a spot in the knockout rounds. PSG are one of five teams to start with three wins from three, but Villarreal are 1-0-2 having lost to both Liverpool (also 3-0-0) and Borussia Dortmund.
They did beat Napoli 3-1 after failing to win in last year's Group Phase. Afterlosing at home to Espanyol on Friday, Villarreal will be keen to put their best foot forward, even if they do enter Tuesday's match as big underdogs.
Villarreall's third Canadian, Tani Oluwaseyi, scored in both the Napoli and Liverpool games, finding some good form in Europe despite having an up-and-down season in LaLiga so far this season. Oluwaseyi has struggled to carve out a spot for himself in the lineup, but those goals off the bench,and another in the Copa del Rey recently, could reward him with more playing time - though PSG doesn't seem like the chance to try him out.
Oluwaseyi will also likely be in Canada's November squad, as he often has under Marsch. PSG have been one of Europe's dominant forces lately, winning back-to-back UCL crowns and five straight Ligue 1 titles.
For years the narrative was that the high-spending club couldn't put the pieces together in European competition, but now that they have figured that out as well under Spanish manager Luis Enrique, it could take something really special to deny them a third in a row, a rare feat.