Villarreal looking to build on Champions League win, return to LaLiga play vs. Elche

Canadian striker Tani Oluwaseyi scored his first goal of the season midweek, Villarreal's third in their 3-1 Champions League win over Napoli. As attention turns back to LaLiga play and Saturday's home match against Elche, Oluwaseyi could be in line for an increased role in the team.

Oluwaseyi has been an unused sub in four of eight league matches this season, including the last three games - coming off the bench for brief appearances in the other four. A 28-minute run out against Real Betis on Sept.

14 was his longest appearance of the season, following 13 minutes against Deportivo de A Coruña, eight against Alavés and five vs. He did start the Yellow Submarine's Champions League opener against Borussia Dortmund, playing just under an hour, but generally minutes have been hard to come by for the Canadian.

The midweek goal could be the spark for Iñigo Pérez to throw him back in - either from the start or more regular opportunities from the bench. Nathan Saliba has had no shortage of minutes since moving to Spain this summer, starting three of his five LaLiga appearances and both Champions League games.

It was the Quebec midfielderwhose hair was pulled by Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. last week in bizarre moment that has gone viral.

Vini will miss El Classico as a result of the violent conduct, and had a goal disallowed on that very play. Saliba has quickly established himself as a key player in the middle of the park for Perez, thanks to his silky ability on the ball and willingness to get stuck in defensively.

Villarreal's third Canadian, Tajon Buchanan, is still out with a hamstring injury suffered on international duty with Canada recently. Villarreal lost that game in Madrid, and their LaLiga record fell to 2-2-4 as a result, leaving them in 11th heading into this weekend.

They'll want to get a big win on the board before what will likely be the most challenging stretch of their entire campaign - playing Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Champions League play with three games in a week in between that. They get welcomed back from the November international break with a trip to Barcelona, who don't look like they'll lose to anyone anytime soon - but there's still a month before they have to worry about that one.