Seeking to open up an eight-point lead at the top of the Eredivisie standings, high-flying PSV Eindhoven play host to Groningen at the Philips Stadion on Saturday.
Having failed to win any of their last nine visits to the Philips Stadion, the Trots van het Noorden will head into the weekend looking to get one over the hosts and secure consecutive league victories for the first time since August.
Match preview
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PSV Eindhoven returned to winning ways in style just before the international break as they edged out NAC Breda 3-0 when the two teams squared off at the Rat Verlegh Stadion on November 9.
Having thrashed Spanish outfit Girona 4-0 in the Champions League just four days earlier, Ricardo Pepi, Ismael Saibari and Johan Bakayoko all found the back of the net to fire PSV to another resounding victory.
Prior to that, Peter Bosz's men saw their run of 11 back-to-back victories in the Eredivisie come to an end on November 2, when they suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat against Ajax at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
With a third of the season played, PSV are well on course to defend the Eredivisie title as they have picked up 33 points from a possible 36 to sit top of the standings with a five-point cushion over second-placed Utrecht.
After two consecutive league matches on the road, the Rood-witten now return home, where they have won each of their last 10 league games, scoring 37 goals and keeping five clean sheets since a 2-2 draw against Feyenoord on Match 3.
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Groningen, on the other hand, were one of the few Eredivisie sides in action during the break as they played out a 1-1 draw with German outfit Koln last Thursday, when Mark Uth and Thijs Oosting scored for either side to force a share of the spoils.
The Trots van het Noorden now return to action in the Eredivisie, where they will be looking to secure back-to-back wins for the first time since August after picking up a 1-0 victory over Sparta Rotterdam on November 9
Twenty-two-year-old Romano Postema grabbed the headlines for Groningen as he netted the only goal of the game one minute after the half-hour mark at the Euroborg Stadion to snap their six-game losing streak in the league.
Dick Lukkien's men have won just three of their 12 league matches so far while losing six and claiming three draws to collect 12 points and sit 13th in the standings, level on points with PEC Zwolle and Heracles.
Next up for Groningen is the daunting challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in 18 of the last 20 meetings between the two teams, claiming 13 wins and five draws since December 2008.
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Team News
PSV Eindhoven remain without several players down the spine of the team as Hirving Lozano (muscle) and Fode Fofana (knee) and Adamo Nagalo all continue their spells on the sidelines.
Jerdy Schouten has missed the last five matches since coming off with a thigh problem against AZ Alkmaar in October while former Barcelona man Sergino Dest continues his long road to full fitness after picking up a knee injury back in April.
Pepi netted two goals across two matches for the United States during the international break and the 21-year-old, who has three goals and six assists in 11 Eredivisie appearances will be one to keep an eye on this weekend.
Groningen, meanwhile, will have to cope without experienced defender Marvin Peersman, who is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Sparta Rotterdam on November 9.
In his absence, AZ Alkmaar loanee Finn Stam should come into the fold, forming the back four with Leandro Bacuna, Marco Rente and 20-year-old Wouter Prins, while Postema and Thom van Bergen should team up in attack.
On the injury front, Lukkien will be unable to name 21-year-old midfielder Tika de Jonge, who has missed each of the last two matches since picking up an injury against NEC Nijmegen on November 3.
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Karsdorp, Boscagli, Flamingo, Dams; Tillman, Junior, Saibari; Bakayoko, Pepi, Lang
Groningen possible starting lineup:
Vaessen; Bacuna, Rente, Stam, Prins; Schreuders, Resink, Hove, Valente; Van Bergen, Postema
We say: PSV Eindhoven 3-0 Groningen
While Groningen will look to continue right from where they dropped off against Sparta Rotterdam before the international break, they are in for a tough 90 minutes against PSV Eindhoven side who have flown out of the blacks in their title defence.
Bosz's men head into the weekend on a blistering run of results at the Philips Stadion and we are backing them to extend their dominance over the visitors with another comfortable victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
