PSV’s line-up for the match against FC Midtjylland in the third qualifying round of the Champions League has been announced. Roger Schmidt chooses to replace the suspended Olivier Boscagli with 22-year-old Armando Obispo, who makes his debut in the (preliminary round of) the Champions League. The first game between PSV and Midtjylland starts on Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. in the Philips Stadium.
In the return match against Galatasaray, Boscagli received two yellow cards. “We have suitable alternatives for that, with Nick Viergever and Armando Obispo. They both deserve to play,” Schmidt said Monday at the press conference leading up to the match. The choice fell on Obispo, which means that Viergever is on the bench. When he comes in, Viergever will play his 85th game in a European context for a Dutch club. He would thus break the record of Danny Blind and Willy van de Kerkhof (84).
It Eindhovens Dagblad took into account one more changes in the run-up to the game. Phillipp Mwene was preferred as right back in the diptych with Galatasaray, but Jordan Teze is now fully training with the A-selection and the newspaper expected that he would get a chance. However, Schmidt sticks to Mwene in the right-back position. As a result, the entrance of Obispo is the only change compared to last week’s game with Galatasaray.
Midtjylland – which finished number two behind champions Bröndby IF in Denmark last season – is dealing with a corona outbreak. Trainer Bo Henriksen has to miss Nicolas Madsen, Henrik Dalsgaard and star player Pione Sisto after they tested positive. Jens Cajuste is also not present, although that was more or less certain in advance. The midfielder-cum-Swedish international has been given the space to make a transfer and is on his way to Brentford.
PSV line-up: drum; Mwene, Ramalho, Obispo, Max; Sangare, Gotze, Van Ginkel; Madueke, Zahavi, Gakpo
FC Midtjylland line-up: nnb