The marquee match of the weekend in the Eredivisie will see Feyenoord taking on the force that is PSV Eindhoven at Stadion Feijenoord on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts have done very little wrong this season but are already seven points behind the visitors, who are leading the way and putting together a truly remarkable run of results.
Match preview
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Feyenoord returned from the international break with a solid performance, beating Excelsior 4-2 on the road, with Santiago Gimenez scoring a hat-trick, while Quinten Timber also got his name on the scoresheet.
That marked Gimenez's 28th Eredivisie goal of 2023, which is the highest tally for a player in a calendar year since Luis Suarez bagged 30 back in 2009.
However, that positive result was followed by a 3-1 loss in midweek to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, which ended their hopes of reaching the knockout stages, although they have secured third place in the group.
That loss was also the first European home game Feyenoord lost since December 2020 (2-0 against Dinamo Zagreb) and brought an end to an unbeaten run of 16 home matches in European competition.
In addition, the Pride of South became the third Dutch side to ever score two own goals in a single European match, after ADO Den Haag against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1970 and Sparta Rotterdam against Rangers in 1960.
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We cannot speak about records this season without mentioning PSV, though, who have been nothing short of incredible since the start of the campaign.
The Peasants claimed a 3-0 win over Twente following the international break and continued their blistering form in midweek when they smashed another three goals past Sevilla to put themselves on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2015-16.
With that win over Twente, Peter Bosz has now won 15 consecutive Eredivisie games, the longest streak for a manager since Louis van Gaal in 1995, and his side have gone a whopping 12 consecutive league matches scoring three or more goals.
However, they now face their toughest opponent in the Eredivisie to date and will have to find a way to break down the defending champions, who are unbeaten in the last three matches between these sides at this venue.
Team News
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Feyenoord have two injury concerns coming into this crucial fixture, with Alireza Jahanbakhsh ruled out with a muscle injury, while Bart Nieuwkoop has been flagged as a doubt.
Gimenez leads the top scorer standings in the league and will almost certainly lead the line here, while Calvin Stengs, Igor Paixao and Luka Ivanusec are expected to provide the support in midfield.
PSV are also missing a few important players, with Hirving Lozano (hip) and Armel Bella-Kotchap (knock) both ruled out for this match, though they could return before the end of the year.
Mauro Junior and Armando Obispo are out with serious knee injuries for the longer term, while Yorbe Vertessen will be hoping to make the starting 11 after missing out in Europe in midweek.
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Bijlow; Geertruida, Trauner, Hancko, Hartman; Wieffer, Timber; Ivanusec, Stengs, Paixao; Gimenez
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Teze, Silva, Boscagli, Dest, Schouten, Veerman; Bakayoko, Til, Vertessen; De Jong
We say: Feyenoord 2-3 PSV Eindhoven
PSV's league performance up to this point of the season has been incredible, and if they can pull off another win here, we could be seeing the makings of a very special campaign for The Farmers. Feyenoord will love nothing more than to bring an end to their opponents' streak, but we are backing the visitors to defy the odds again in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
