PSV Eindhoven will seek to confirm their status as runners-up when they visit the Stadion Galgenwaard to face FC Utrecht in their season Finale on Sunday.
The home team also need a victory this weekend in order to hold off the threat of teams around them and secure fifth place in the Eredivisie table.
Match preview
© Reuters
PSV Eindhoven kept themselves in the driving seat for second position courtesy of a 4-2 triumph over PEC Zwolle on Thursday.
Roger Schmidt's men raced to a three-goal advantage at half time thanks to goals from Donyell Malen, Yorbe Vertessen and an inadvertent own goal from Xavier Mous.
Eran Zahavi added a fourth nine minutes after the restart, before Immanuel Pherai and Samir Lagsir both scored to make the scoreline respectable.
That win stretched The Rood-witten's cushion over AZ Alkmaar to three points, all but confirming their return to the Champions League next season.
Sunday's visitors can also complete a league double over their hosts after a 2-1 win in December's reverse fixture at the Philips Stadion.
Utrecht were held to a second consecutive draw away from home on Thursday when they played out a goalless draw against Sparta Rotterdam.
Rene Hake's men were left frustrated in front of goal for the second time in five days during which they have played two 0-0 draws.
Those dropped points have ruled out any chances of The Domstedelingen usurping the likes of Feyenoord and Vitesse, but it has still been a productive campaign nonetheless.
Ahead of their European playoffs to come in the summer, Sunday's hosts will now aim to end the domestic season with a bang.
- L
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
PSV's Mohammed Ihattaren is ruled out of the clash due to a knee problem he sustained after coming on as a second-half substitute a month ago.
Mauro Junior is expected to play no part for the away side as he continues to nurse a knee injury, but the Brazilian is not far off a comeback after missing the last two months of action.
Richard Ledezma and Maximiliano Romero have both had their seasons ended prematurely, picking up ACL and knee injuries respectively.
Utrecht's Reda Akmum is unavailable for the game as he remains sidelined with a damaged knee which has kept him out since February.
Christopher Mamengi has missed the last seven months of action due to an ankle injury which he picked up while on duty with the reserve team.
FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:
Oelschlagel; Warmerdam, Janssen, Van der Maarel, Ter Avest; Van Overeem, Van de Streek, Maher; Boussaid, Kerk, Gustafson
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; Max, Viergever, Teze, Dumfries; Rosario, Boscagli, Gotze; Gakpo, Malen, Zahavi
We say: FC Utrecht 1-2 PSV Eindhoven
The game promises to be a fascinating encounter with two of Dutch football's top sides going head-to-head. PSV Eindhoven are the favourites for this one, and we expect them to justify that tag by claiming a narrow win.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
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 46.99%. A win for FC Utrecht had a probability of 30.14% and a draw had a probability of 22.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a PSV Eindhoven win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.22%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.22%) and 0-2 (6.53%). The likeliest FC Utrecht win was 2-1 (7.2%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.19%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.2% likelihood.
