PSV Eindhoven prepare to host Heerenveen at the Philips Stadion on Sunday as they go in search of a fourth consecutive league win.
Meanwhile, Heerenveen are one of four teams that are currently tied on 37 points, and they are still vying for a top-half finish.
Match preview
© Reuters
PSV Eindhoven picked up a joint league-high 12th home win of the campaign on Saturday by defeating Groningen 1-0.
Eran Zahavi's second-half penalty was enough to send Roger Schmidt's men three points clear of AZ Alkmaar in second.
The Rood-witten have turned a corner in recent weeks, but perhaps it is too little too late in respect to their title charge as Ajax will be crowned champions should they avoid defeat against Emmen.
Recent meetings between Saturday's opponents have often ended in favour of the hosts, who are unbeaten in their last nine games on home turf against the visitors.
However, December's reverse fixture at the Abe Lenstra Stadion ended in a 2-2 draw courtesy of Joel Piroe's last-gasp equaliser.
Heerenveen were defeated at home for the second game running as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against PEC Zwolle on Saturday.
Pelle Clement and Bram van Polen were on target as Johnny Jansen's men suffered their 11th league defeat of the season.
De Superfriezen missed out on the opportunity to move into 9th place, but they are only separated from the top half on goal difference.
Their next two games are against teams in the current top six, highlighting the task at hand for Saturday's visitors if they are to better last season's 10th-placed finish.
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Pawel Bochniewicz remains on the sidelines after he was subbed off in the first half against Ajax earlier in the month due to a calf problem.
Joey Veerman and Hank Veerman recently tested positive for COVID-19, and they are both unavailable for the game as they remain in isolation.
Mauro Junior is ruled out through a knee injury, but the Brazilian is not far off a comeback after missing the last seven weeks of action.
Richard Ledezma and Maximiliano Romero have both had their seasons ended prematurely, picking up ACL and knee injuries respectively.
Nineteen-year-old Mees Kreekels is expected to sit the game out with a knee injury, ruling out any chances of his debut for the first team.
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; Max, Viergever, Teze, Dumfries; Rosario, Boscagli, Gotze; Gakpo, Malen, Zahavi
Heerenveen possible starting lineup:
Mulder; Kaib, Van Hecke, Dresevic, Floranus; Kongolo, Schone, De Jong; Nygren, Van Bergen, Halilovic
We say: PSV Eindhoven 2-0 Heerenveen
With PSV's title charge set to be mathematically over this weekend, finishing as runners-up is still on the horizon for this weekend's hosts. We are backing them to further tighten their hold on second place with all three points in this one.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a PSV Eindhoven win with a probability of 71.03%. A draw had a probability of 16.7% and a win for Heerenveen had a probability of 12.25%.
The most likely scoreline for a PSV Eindhoven win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.47%) and 3-0 (8.37%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.67%), while for a Heerenveen win it was 1-2 (3.57%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.4% likelihood.
