PSV Eindhoven welcome FC Utrecht to the Philips Stadion for their opening Eredivisie fixture of the 2023-24 season on Saturday afternoon.
The Lightbulbs will be hoping to make a bright start to the new campaign against a Utrecht side whom they thrashed 6-1 on home soil last October.
Match preview
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Four days after beating Eredivisie champions Feyenoord 1-0 in the Johan Cruyff Shield, PSV Eindhoven securing a commanding 4-1 home victory over Austrian side Sturm Graz in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie on Tuesday.
The Lightbulbs raced into a three-goal lead within the opening 32 minutes thanks to strikes from Isaac Babadi and Luuk de Jong (2), before Jon Gorenc Stankovic pulled one back for the visitors on the stroke of half time. However, Ibrahim Sangare restored PSV's three-goal cushion in the second half to give them a healthy advantage heading into next Tuesday's second leg.
Peter Bosz, who was appointed head coach in July following the sour exit of Ruud van Nistelrooy at the end of last season, will be aware that his side have one foot in the playoff round where they could face either Rangers or Servette later this month for a place in the Champions League group stage, which they last competed in five years ago.
However, PSV must first turn their attention to Saturday's Eredivisie opener with Utrecht whom they have beaten in each of their last six home league matches by an aggregate score of 22-3.
PSV are seeking to win their first Eredivisie title since 2017-18 and climb to the summit this term after settling for a third successive second-placed finish last season, finishing seven points behind champions Feyenoord.
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Utrecht, meanwhile, are gearing up for their first competitive game of the new campaign after experiencing a mixed set of results in pre-season, winning three, drawing one and losing four of their eight friendly fixtures.
The Domstedelingen ended their pre-season preparations on a high when they secured a 3-0 home victory over La Liga side Espanyol last weekend courtesy of a first-half brace from Anastasios Douvikas and a second-half strike from Zakaria Labyad.
Michael Silberbauer is now planning for his first full season in charge after taking the reins in December last year, and the 42-year-old is hoping to build on the club's successive seventh-placed finishes in the last two Eredivisie seasons.
Utrecht head into Saturday's game unbeaten in each of their last four opening-day Eredivisie fixtures, three of which were away from home, but they may struggle to come out on top against a PSV outfit whom they have failed to beat in each of their last 14 meetings across all competitions.
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Team News
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PSV are set to be without centre-back Armando Obispo as he continues to recover from a knee injury, while left-back Mauro Junior – who missed the win over Sturm Graz due to a continental ban – is also struggling with a similar problem.
Bosz may therefore stick with the same back four of Jordan Teze, Andre Ramalho, Olivier Boscagli and Patrick van Aanholt, protecting goalkeeper Walter Benitez.
Guus Til will be pushing to start in centre-midfield ahead of either Babadi or Joey Veerman, while target man Luuk de Jong is expected to continue in attack alongside Johan Bakayoko and summer signing Noa Lang, with another new recruit Ricardo Pepi set to begin again as a substitute.
As for Utrecht, they have been busy in the summer transfer market with 11 signings made so far, including goalkeepers Vasilios Barkas and Mattijs Branderhorst who will battle for the number one jersey.
Modibo Sagnan has made his loan move from Real Sociedad permanent and is set to start at centre-back alongside Mike van der Hoorn, while Souffian El Karouani is expected to start at left-back.
A trio of Jens Toornstra, Can Bozdogan and Victor Jensen could line up in midfield, while central striker Douvikas – who scored 22 goals in all competitions last season – may be supported in attack by Labyad and Othman Boussaid.
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Teze, Ramalho, Boscagli, Van Aanholt; Veerman, Sangare, Til; Bakayoko, De Jong, Lang
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Barkas; Ter Avest, Van der Hoorn, Sagnan, El Karouani; Toornstra, Bozdogan, Jensen; Labyad, Douvikas, Boussaid
We say: PSV Eindhoven 3-1 FC Utrecht
With two competitive games already under their belt, the momentum is with PSV heading into Saturday's game and they will be regarded as firm favourites to claim maximum points here.
Utrecht frustrated PSV in their last meeting, playing out a 2-2 draw in March, but we believe that the hosts will open their account for the new season with a positive result and performance at the Philips Stadion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
