Sports Mole previews Friday's Eredivisie match between PSV Eindhoven and Fortuna Sittard, including predictions, team news and possible line-ups.
Show all content days later Eredivisie Feyenoord can be beat, eindhoven Return to league action at Philips Stadium with a goal of defeating Fortuna Sittard And maybe get into the No. 1 spot.
Peter BossThe team has won four league games ahead of Friday's round 11 match against Fortunezen, who have not recorded a win in this competition since May 1999.
Game preview
Ismail Sebari Last weekend's table-top clash between league leaders Feyenoord and defending champions PSV in De Kuip saw PSV score a brilliant hat-trick to hand the team their first defeat in the Eredivisie.
The win brings the PSV giants level Robin van PersieAhead of Round 11, the Cottagers could end the game week as the only top scorers if Feyenoord lose against Volendam later on Saturday.
With the home side playing first this weekend, top points puts some pressure on the joint leaders, who play just 24 hours later and must play Bosz's side if they want to retain their position at the top of the table.
Although they have won four consecutive league games this weekend, one win in three games at the Philips Arena (including a draw and a defeat) highlights recent inconsistency in PSV as they seek back-to-back wins since August's 6-1 and 4-2 wins over Sparta Rotterdam and Groningen respectively.
The home fans will approach Friday's game with optimism, given that Fortuna have failed every time they have played at PSV since a 1-1 draw in December 2000.
Fifteen years have passed since Fortuna last avoided defeat at the Philips Stadium. Danny BuiceThe team faces a tough challenge to break out of conference status.
The task has become even more daunting as Fortunezen has suffered consecutive losses and three setbacks in the past four weeks of play.
Three consecutive away defeats and four defeats in five have highlighted Fortuna's woes outside of Limburg as FSC have been unable to find success on the road.
Two of those three losses further highlighted their difficulty scoring on the road, with their three points on the road accounting for 23.1% of their 13 total points.
Despite a better home record, they are fighting a losing battle to avoid a fourth straight away league defeat.
A win over Göhmert in the domestic cup this week gives us some relief away from home, although facing PSV in PSV is a challenge on a different level: from a fourth-tier opponent to a top team.
PSV Eindhoven Eredivisie format:
PSV Eindhoven status (all competitions):
Fortuna Sittard Eredivisie format:
Fortuna Sittard form (all competitions):
Team news
Bosz's side are still without any long-term players as PSV have no apparent new injuries against Feyenoord Ruben van Bommel (knee), Kiliann Sildillia (muscle) and Alassane Plea (knee).
Following last weekend's hat-trick, Nishijari is now Cottagers' top scorer with six goals, overtaking Joey Wellman and Gus Till (four each) before the Week 11 game.
Ivan Perisic Heading into this weekend's game against an out-of-form Fortuna, he leads the assist charts with five, ahead of Wellman (four) and Mauro Junior (three).
The visitors are dealing with a number of injury concerns, with Aaron Halilovic (ankle), Edouard Michut, Daley Sinkgraven (knee), Sibu van Outler (muscle) and Ramazan Byram (knee) all sidelined.
Each side has scored three goals this season. Mohammad Ihatalun and Paul Gladden will both look to improve Friday's scoring total, even if they may need to come off the bench to impact the proceedings.
Makan Aiko and Demitris Limnios Both assisted two goals and showed some creativity, especially the latter who also created two clear chances.
Possible starting lineup for PSV Eindhoven:
Kovar; Dest, Schouten, Gasiorowski, Salah Edin; junior, Wellman; Mann, Nishizhangri, Perisic; Till
Possible starting XI for Fortuna Sittard:
Brandhorst; Pinto, Adwoye, Marquez, Dalhousie; Brittien, Foso, Renwijk; Limnios, Silhuis, Peterson
We say: PSV 3-1 Fortuna Sittard
Fortuna has scored in each of its last three meetings with PSV, but PSV have prevailed each time, beating the Limburg visitors 9-3.
Another win at the Philips Stadium on Friday is expected to give Bosz's side a fifth top-flight win and at least 24 hours to go top of the table.
For a breakdown of the game's most likely outcomes, scores and more, click here.
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