The final curtain of gameweek 26 in the Eredivisie will be a clash of the heavyweights, with PSV Eindhoven taking on FC Twente at Philips Stadion on Sunday evening.
The hosts are well on course to lift the league title this season, currently leading the league standings by 10 points, while the visitors are in third place and trail second-placed Feyenoord by six points.
Match preview
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PSV will come into this match with heavy hearts, having suffered a 2-0 defeat in midweek to Borussia Dortmund, which saw them exit the round of 16 in the Champions League 3-1 on aggregate.
Nevertheless, with the European competition now out the window, the Farmers will look to continue their dominance domestically, where they look destined to bring an end to a five-season wait for the title.
Peter Bosz's side have looked a cut above the rest this term and after beating Go Ahead Eagles last weekend, they maintained their unbeaten league record, which now reads as 22 wins and three draws in 25 games.
At Philips Stadion this season, PSV's 11-match winning streak was halted at the start of the month when they played out a 2-2 draw against Feyenoord, but they are still unbeaten in their last 22 home games (W19 D3 L0), which is a record that dates all the way back to January 2023.
The home side won the reverse fixture fairly comfortably with a 3-0 scoreline back in November last year at Grolsch Veste and are unsurprisingly the overwhelming favourites heading into this one.
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Meanwhile, after failing to qualify for Europe at the start of the term, Twente are challenging for continental qualification again this season, currently holding down the sole Europa League spot, six points clear of fourth-placed AZ Alkmaar.
The Tukkers' last league match ended in a 2-1 home victory over Sparta Rotterdam, with Daan Rots and Myron Boadu scoring the goals to take their side to a third consecutive league win and their fifth in the last six.
Joseph Oosting's side have taken 22 points out of a possible 36 on the road this season and are currently on a three-match unbeaten streak (W2 D1 L0) away from De Grolsch Veste. Their last away defeat was back in mid-January against NEC.
However, despite their solid form this season, this will be a huge test for the visitors as they now face an opponent that they have lost to in each of their last three encounters across all competitions and conceded three goals in each match during that time.
Team News
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PSV have a few notable injury concerns for this match, with Noa Lang unavailable for an extended period due to a hamstring issue and Richard Ledezma flagged as a doubt due to a lack of fitness.
Ismael Saibari has now missed the last two games with a muscle injury and his participation in this match seems unlikely, while Armando Obispo will be suspended after being sent off against Go Ahead Eagles last time out.
Luuk de Jong, with 22 goals and 11 assists, is the first player with 20+ goals and 10+ assists in the top 10 European competitions this season, while he is the first to do so in an Eredivisie campaign since Dusan Tadic in 2018-19.
Twente, on the other hand, are likely to be without the services of centre-back Mees Hilgers, who sustained an injury in the side's 2-1 win over Vitesse at the start of the month. Max Bruns is the most likely to start in place of Hilgers in the backline.
In midfield, Carel Eiting continues to work his way back to full fitness and is likely to remain sidelined for a few more weeks, while Mathias Kjolo missed last week's game against Sparta and remains a doubt for this match.
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Teze, Bella-Kotchap, Boscagli, Dest; Schouten, Til, Junior; Tillman, De Jong, Lozano
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Brenet, Bruns, Propper; Smal; Regeer, Sadilek; Rots, Steijn, Vlap; Van Wolfswinkel
We say: PSV Eindhoven 2-1 FC Twente
PSV have been sensational this season, particularly at Philips Stadion, where they have found the net at least twice in each of their 12 league home games this season. While they will still be feeling the effects of their midweek disappointment, we are expecting them to bounce back with a solid performance in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
