PSV Eindhoven return from their winter training camp when they play host to SBV Excelsior at the Philips Stadion in round 17 of the Eredivisie on Saturday.
Off the back of an outstanding first half of the season, the Rood-witten currently boast a 10-point lead at the top of the table and will be looking to continue their perfect league campaign.
Match preview
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PSV Eindhoven took the pitch for the first time in the new year as they featured in two consecutive mid-season friendlies against Heracles and Hamburger last Sunday.
After playing out a 1-1 draw with Heracles in the first of the two games behind closed doors, Luuk de Jong grabbed the headlines against the German outfit as he struck twice in the first half to force a 2-2 stalemate.
Prior to their winter training camp, the Rood-witten picked up an emphatic 4-0 victory over AZ Alkmaar at the AFAS Stadion on December 17 courtesy of goals from Ismael Saibari, Sergino Dest a brace from De Jong.
PSV have now gone unbeaten in each of their last eight matches across all competitions, a run which has seen them reach the knockout stages of the Champions League after finishing second in Group B with nine points from six matches.
Peter Bosz's men now turn their attention to the Eredivisie, where they have been simply outstanding this season, winning all 16 matches so far to sit top of the table, with a healthy 10-point lead over second-placed Feyenoord.
Having scored a staggering 56 goals, not only do PSV boast the meanest attack in the division, but they have conceded the fewest number of goals (6) while keeping 11 clean sheets in their 16 games so far.
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Excelsior gained some respite in their final game of the year as they scraped a 3-2 extra-time victory over Tweede Divisie outfit Spakenburg in the second round of the KNVB Beker.
With nothing to separate both sides after 90 minutes at the Sportpark De Westmaat, Serbian centre-forward Nikolas Agrafiotis rose to the occasion as he netted the winning goal just nine minutes into extra time.
Prior to that, Excelsior were on a run of seven consecutive matches without a win across all competitions, losing twice and picking up five draws since edging out Den Bosch 2-1 in the first round of the cup on November 1.
While the victory over Spakenburg came three weeks ago, head coach Marinus Dijkhuizen will hope that his side can carry on that momentum into this weekend as they look to end their nine-match winless run in the Eredivisie.
Excelsior's last league victory dates back to October 1, when they edged out Sparta Rotterdam 2-1 at the Stadion Woudestein courtesy of second-half goals from Arthur Zagre and Irish striker Troy Parrott.
However, next up is the stern challenge of taking on a PSV side who have won each of the most recent nine encounters between the teams and are unbeaten in their previous 22 meetings, claiming 20 wins and two draws.
Team News
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PSV will have to cope without 22-year-old midfielder Ismael Saibari, who is currently away on international duty with the Morocco national team at the Africa Cup of Nations.
On the injury front, Bosz will be unable to call upon the services of Armel Bella-Kotchap and Dutch forward Noa Lang, who are currently recuperating from shoulder and muscle injuries respectively.
With 12 league goals under his belt, De Jong currently ranks third in the Eredivisie scoring chart and we expect the 33-year-old, who has started all 16 league games so far, to spearhead the Rood-witten attack once again, alongside Johan Bakayoko and Malik Tillman.
Excelsior remain without several key players down the spine of the team as the midfield trio of Serano Seymor (foot), Raphael Eyongo (ankle) and Lennard Hartjes (knee) all continue their spells on the sidelines.
Dutch defender Kik Pierie suffered a foot injury back in August while 25-year-old forward Jacky Donkor has been sidelined since November 2022 through a knee problem.
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Teze, Schouten, Boscagli, Dest; Til, Veerman, Goudmijn; Bakayoko, De Jong, Tillman
SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:
Van Gassel; Horemans, Nieuwpoort, Widell, El Yaakoubi, Smeulers; Lamprou, Naujoks, Baas, Driouech; Parrott
We say: PSV Eindhoven 3-0 SBV Excelsior
Excelsior scraped a narrow cup win last time out and are in for another tough 90 minutes against a high-flying PSV side. Bosz's men have been utterly dominant in the history of this fixture, and given the gulf in quality and experience between the two sides, we are backing the hosts to come away with all three points unscathed.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
