Eredivisie title hopefuls PSV Eindhoven set out to get their title challenge back on track when they visit the GelreDome on Saturday to take on Vitesse.
Both teams have lost each of their last two league outings heading into this one and will be keen to come away with a positive result this weekend.
Match preview
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PSV Eindhoven breezed into the semi-finals of the KNVB-Beker courtesy of a 4-0 victory over lower league side NAC Breda on Tuesday.
Noni Madueke broke the deadlock in the eighth minute after which Mario Gotze netted twice to put Roger Schmidt's men in the driving seat heading into the second half, in which Cody Gakpo put the icing on the cake.
Prior to that, The Rood-witten fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat versus AZ Alkmaar on February 5 and are currently five points behind Ajax in the race for the title.
With little margin for error, PSV now prepare for the challenge of an opposing side who have won just one of the last 17 meetings between the teams since 2014.
Saturday's visitors follow up this weekend's clash with the first leg of their Conference League tie versus Maccabi Tel Aviv, and a victory would help set the tone nicely.
Vitesse's journey in this season's Dutch Cup was brought to an end on Wednesday thanks to a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of holders Ajax.
Sebastien Haller and Antony scored two goals apiece, while Dusan Tadic also got in on the act to sink Thomas Letsch's men in Amsterdam.
Geel en Zwart have now lost their last three games by a combined score of 11-1 which does not make for good reading ahead of their continental commitment versus Rapid Vienna.
Having managed just 14 points from 10 home games this term, Saturday's hosts have been largely underwhelming in front of their fans which is an area that needs significant improvement going forward.
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Team News
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Nineteen-year-old Noni Madueke wasted no time in stealing the spotlight on his return to action, and he is expected to be named in the starting lineup for this one.
Portuguese winger Bruma will be aiming to come up trumps for his side once again after scoring the clincher in the reverse fixture.
Mees Kreekels, Shurandy Sambo and Ryan Thomas are all ruled out through knee injuries, while Andre Ramalho is currently nursing a muscle problem.
With only a three-day recovery window from his side's last outing, Thomas Letsch might contemplate making some changes to the team he fielded in midweek.
The likes of Million Manhoef and Dominik Oroz were second-half substitutes last time out but will be pushing for starts this weekend.
Vitesse possible starting lineup:
Houwen; Hajek, Bazoer, Manhoef; Wittek, Tronstad, Bero, Dasa; Grbic, Gboho, Buitink
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Drommel; Max, Bosagli, Mwene, Teze; Sangare, Gutierrez, Gotze; Madueke, Zahavi, Gakpo
We say: Vitesse 0-1 PSV Eindhoven
With both sides having to deal with fatigue from their cup involvement in midweek, we expect a low-intensity affair in this one, with the away side narrowly edging out their hosts.
Top 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 50.8%. A win for Vitesse had a probability of 24.68% and a draw had a probability of 24.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a PSV Eindhoven win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.89%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.59%) and 0-2 (8.96%). The likeliest Vitesse win was 1-0 (7.08%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.65%). The actual scoreline of 0-5 was predicted with a 0.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that PSV Eindhoven would win this match.
