Saturday’s final match in the Eredivisie brings us a top-half clash at the Philips Stadion, where title contenders PSV Eindhoven will be playing host to ninth-placed Fortuna Sittard.
With Ajax not scheduled to play a league match this weekend, PSV will be able to pull within four points of the league leaders if they secure a victory in this fixture.
Match preview
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PSV Eindhoven’s title hopes were given a major boost last week when they secured a 3-1 comeback victory over Twente, while Ajax were held to a 1-1 draw by a surging Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday afternoon.
With those results, De Godenzonen have now taken only a single point from their last two matches, which has narrowed the gap between the top two to seven points, while the Boeren also have a game in hand.
Against the Tukkers, PSV were given an early scare, with Ricky van Wolfswinkel netting the opener inside the first minute of the match, but Ivan Perisic levelled proceedings 10 minutes later before setting up Guus Til for the go-ahead goal just after the break.
Luuk de Jong secured the points four minutes later, marking Peter Bosz‘s side’s third consecutive match scoring three or more goals and their fifth win in their last six top-flight matches.
With four games left to go this season, every match for PSV from here on is a must-win, and they will be confident coming into this one, having not lost to this opponent in any competition since May 1999.
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Meanwhile, Fortuna Sittard will be feeling a lot better about themselves coming into this match after managing to halt a four-match winless run with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Willem II on Tuesday night.
Ezequiel Bullaude scored the only goal of the match for FSC against the Tricolores, but they were by far the more dominant side in the contest and arguably should have come away with more than just a single goal.
That victory took Fortunezen back into the top half of the table and keeps them in contention for European qualification, but they are being tracked by Sparta Rotterdam, who are one of the most in-form teams in the league over the last couple of months.
Danny Buijs‘s side will hope to pull off an against-the-odds win this weekend, but their away record this season is far from impressive, with just three wins, along with six draws and six defeats in 15 games to date.
Team News
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After netting a brace in the 5-0 mauling of Almere City, Ismael Saibari was forced off injured during PSV’s victory against FC Twente on Thursday evening, and Bosz has confirmed that the Moroccan international will not be available this weekend.
Saibari will be joined on the sidelines this weekend by fellow injury absentees, Sergino Dest (muscle), Lucas Perez (illness), Wessel Kuhn (knee), Ricardo Pepi (knee) and Jerdy Schouten (knee).
Fortuna Sittard were dealt a significant injury blow in their victory over Willem II last week, with Makan Aiko forced off after just 30 minutes, and he is unlikely to return for the side again this season.
The Frenchman adds to an already lengthy absentee list for the visitors, which features the likes of Onur Demir, Ramazan Bayram, Daley Sinkgraven, Alessio Da Cruz and Alen Halilovic.
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Ledezma, Flamingo, Obispo, Junior; Tillman, Veerman, Til; Lang, De Jong, Perisic
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Branderhorst; Pinto, Van Ottele; Guth, Dijks; Adewoye, Fosso; Dahlhaus, Bullaude, Peterson; Sierhuis
We say: PSV Eindhoven 3-0 Fortuna Sittard
Every match from here is a must-win for PSV, and they enter this one riding a three-match win streak and in good goal-scoring form. The hosts have not lost to this opponent in over 25 years, and we feel they will add another win to that record this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
