PSV Eindhoven will have hopes of breaking into the Eredivisie top two when they host FC Utrecht on Sunday.
The Boeren are currently third in the table, a point behind Vitesse in second and three points behind leaders Ajax. Opponents Utrecht sit 10th going into the game.
Match preview
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It has been an impressive start to the season for PSV under new boss Roger Schmidt, as they have won seven and lost just one of their 11 league games so far.
They rescued a point against Heerenveen last weekend, as Joel Piroe netted a 92nd-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw.
Then on Thursday night they ran out comfortable 4-0 winners over Cypriot side Omonia in the Europa League – Donyell Malen, Denzel Dumfries and Piroe getting on the scoresheet – to secure top spot in their group.
PSV have a perfect home record in the league this season – winning all five of their games in Eindhoven so far, scoring 12 goals and conceding just once.
That is not good news for Utrecht, who have an atrocious record away at PSV in the Eredivisie. They have picked up just five points from their last 38 games at The Philips Stadion since they last recorded a league victory there in 1980.
Domstedelingen have just two wins to their name this season, and both of those came on home turf under previous manager John van den Brom, who left to join Belgian side Genk at the start of November. New boss Rene Hake is winless in his first four matches.
They have drawn each of their last three games 1-1, most recently against ADO Den Haag last weekend. They had 20 shots, and took the lead just after half time through Justin Hoogma, but had to settle for a point when Michiel Kramer equalised late on.
While Utrecht have not yet won on the road, they have only lost once – drawing their other four away games.
Having finished in the top six in each of the last five seasons, supporters will be underwhelmed to currently find themselves in 10th.
PSV Eindhoven Eredivisie form: LWWDWD
PSV Eindhoven form (all competitions): DWWWDW
FC Utrecht Eredivisie form: WLLDDD
FC Utrecht form (all competitions): WLLDDD
Team News
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Of all PSV's current injured players, Ryan Thomas is the closest to returning having been on the sidelines since the start of November.
Mario Gotze and Jordan Teze are likely to be brought back into the side after being rested in the Europa League on Thursday.
Adrian Dalmau was sent off in Utrecht's draw with ADO Den Haag so will miss Sunday's match.
Tommy St Jago made his return from injury last week by being named on the substitutes' bench, but is now in contention to start and could replace Emil Bergstrom in the centre of defence.
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; Dumfries, Teze, Boscagli, Max; Gotze, Rosario, Sangare; Gakpo, Piroe, Ihattaren
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Paes; Maarel, Hoogma, St. Jago, Warmerdam; Ramselaar, Overeem, Gustafson; Streek; Mahi, Kerk
We say: PSV Eindhoven 2-0 FC Utrecht
All the signs point towards a PSV win in this game – the league table, form guide and of course Utrecht's staggeringly bad record at the Philips Stadion. It should be a fairly comfortable three points for Schmidt's side.
Top betting tip
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 66.73%. A draw had a probability of 18.3% and a win for FC Utrecht had a probability of 14.98%.
The most likely scoreline for a PSV Eindhoven win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.71%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.55%) and 1-0 (8.19%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.33%), while for a FC Utrecht win it was 1-2 (4.23%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for PSV Eindhoven in this match.
