It is the week of truth for PSV. Tonight (9 p.m.) a 4-2 defeat against Olympiacos has to be brushed aside in the Europa League, while three days later in the Eredivsie the squatter against Ajax is on the program in which it will be in or out in the title race. In any case, the people from Eindhoven want to prevent it from being played out on all fronts at the end of February, so the pressure on the shoulders of trainer Roger Schmidt’s team is enormous tonight.
“I once saw that we lost 3-1 at Porto with Bayern Munich in the first match. At home we won 6-1, just to show that anything is possible ”, said Mario Götze at the press conference on Wednesday afternoon in the run-up to tonight’s game. The words of the German midfielder show that the faith is present at PSV. Despite the fact that Olympiacos managed to score four times, the defeat of the Eindhoven team in Greece is one with perspective. Because Eran Zahavi scored twice, not one man is overboard. Yet it will be a tough task for the number two in the Eredivisie to reach the eighth finals of the Europa League.
Schmidt and his team will have two thoughts tonight. PSV will have to score at least twice and will not be allowed to concede a goal. With players like Donyell Malen, Götze and Zahavi in the squad, scoring is anything but an impossible task, but defensively it’s a different story. The rearguard is certainly not the best line of PSV this season and Olympiacos was able to take full advantage of that last week. PSV can in any case draw confidence from last Sunday’s score against Vitesse. The team from Arnhem took the lead in the first half, but after the break the home team did something back and eventually won it 3-1. PSV is strong at home and Götze emphasizes that: “We only lost twice and every chance to make it against Olympiacos.”
Click here for the summary of Olympiacos – PSV
Just like PSV, Olympiacos is also not in the best phase of the season. Where almost everything was won in recent months, things have been getting started in recent weeks. Prior to the home game against PSV, Panathinaikos lost 2-1 in the Greek league and there was also no winning last weekend. Against Aris, the number three in the ranking, the team of trainer Pedro Martins did not get further than a 1-1 draw. Ex-PSV player Kostas Mitroglou hurt Olympiacos in the final phase from eleven meters. Despite this, the Greeks have the best papers tonight. “It’s going to be a competition, like a final,” Schmidt was quoted by it on Wednesday Eindhovens Dagblad. “We now know the opponent and are in a difficult situation after last week, but we believe we can turn it around. It has been a long time since PSV has been in a European tournament for so long. ”
Injuries and suspensions
Ibrahim Sangaré is a big absent from PSV. The Ivorian midfielder has been suspended. “He is a key player to us and we miss him. We don’t have a clear replacement either, because his style is very special. By the way, we miss not only him, but several players ”, said Schmidt, referring to Cody Gakpo and Noni Madueke. “Last week we showed that we can also create opportunities without them and that might be even easier at home. The fact that Ibrahim is not available does not mean that there is a need for another system. ” Olivier Boscagli fell out against Olympiacos with a head injury and has since returned to the training field. Or he can play? “We’ll decide after today (Wednesday. Ed.). Yesterday he trained briefly, without contact. We hope he will be there.”
Suspected lineups
The PSV starting team will be changed in several positions compared to last Sunday. Timo Baumgartl is expected to make way for Jordan Teze, while Nick Viergever or Boscagli will start next to him. In the left back position it expects Eindhovens Dagblad Max back again. Due to the suspension of Sangaré, the block for the defense will consist of Pablo Rosario and Ryan Thomas. Schmidt will probably choose Götze and Mohamed Ihattaren for this, who was still missing against Vitesse on Sunday due to illness and a muscle injury. This is at the expense of Erick Gutiérrez and Adrian Fein. Yorbe Vertessen will also have to take a seat on the couch again; Malen and Zahavi are expected to kick off.
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Presumed PSV line-up: Mvogo; Dumfries, Teze, Boscagli / Viergever, Max; Rosario, Thomas; Götze, Ihattaren; Grind, Zahavi.
Probable Olympiacos line-up: Sá; Lala, Papastathopoulos, Ba, Reabciuk; Bouchalakis, Camara; M’Vila, Bruma, El Arabi; Valbuena