Preview: SBV Excelsior vs. PSV Eindhoven - prediction, team news, lineups

PSV Eindhoven travel to SBV Excelsior on Saturday knowing they could finish gameweek seven at the top of the Eredivisie table or in third place.

Peter Bosz's team head to Stadion Woudestein after a brief wobble, which has seen them secure just one league win in three matches and one victory in four across all competitions, and they aim to improve this run, starting with a trip to a club they have not lost to since May 1985.

Match preview

Excelsior's return to the top tier of Dutch football began disappointingly with three consecutive defeats, but Oud Papier-Club have gradually found their footing in recent rounds.

Having conceded five goals in a 5-0 thrashing by NEC, two in a 2-0 Rotterdam derby loss to Feyenoord and four in a 4-1 defeat to FC Utrecht, Ruben den Uil’s team have secured two wins from three matches either side of another regional defeat against Sparta Rotterdam.

By beating FC Twente (1-0) and more recently FC Volendam (2-1), Excelsior have moved out of the relegation zone and now sit in 14th place after six rounds of fixtures, two points ahead of Volendam and Telstar, who are in 16th and 17th, respectively.

While a defeat could see the Rotterdam-based club drop into the dreaded relegation zone, maximum points might see the promoted side climb as high as mid-table, should results elsewhere favour them.

However, a poor record in this fixture is a warning ahead of PSV's visit, with Excelsior losing all 12 of their previous encounters with the Eindhoven giants.

The Peasants are 30 matches unbeaten against the Kralingers since their 2-0 defeat in May 1985, winning 28 of those encounters to emphasise their dominance.

While their match in the KNVB Cup last season was unexpectedly competitive, Bosz's team progressed 5-4 after extra time to extend their winning record over the Oud Papier-Club.

Fans of the defending league champions will demand maximum points again at Stadion Woudestein, despite a downturn in performances and results that caused the Eindhoven giants to lose top spot in the early standings after a strong start to defending their title.

The latest disappointment came last weekend in the De Topper against Ajax on Sunday, when the Peasants led twice but were ultimately pegged back both times in a 2-2 draw.

That match marked the second time in three league games that PSV have dropped points after initially winning nine points from three matches.

Although Bosz's teams are not renowned for their defensive strength, conceding two goals or more in their last four matches in the top flight and five across all competitions has compromised their chances of winning.

Even though Boeren defeated Groningen 4-2 and NEC 5-3, they suffered defeats against Telstar (2-0) and were held to a 2-2 draw by Ajax last weekend, while losing 3-1 to Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League.

Built to outscore their opponents, PSV’s attacking prowess has waned in recent weeks, but do not expect Bosz to ease up on his aggressive approach in Rotterdam this weekend.

SBV Excelsior Eredivisie form:

PSV Eindhoven Eredivisie form:

PSV Eindhoven form (all competitions):

Team News

Arthur Zagre is back in contention to start after serving a one-match suspension for his sending-off against Sparta in mid-September.

While Lennard Hartjes remains out of action due to his knee injury, the bigger miss for Excelsior is goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel, who made 13 saves across wins over Twente and Volendam and was likely to play a key role for the Kralingers; however, he seems likely to miss Saturday’s game due to a groin injury.

As for PSV, they suffered a damaging injury to Ruben van Bommel, the club’s leading scorer with three goals, who sustained a serious knee injury against Ajax, which is likely to rule him out for the season.

The forward thus joins Myron Boadu (hamstring), Kilian Sidillia and Alassane Plea (knee) on the sidelines for the defending league champions.

With Van Bommel sidelined, Joey Veerman (two goals, three assists) and Ivan Perisic (one goal, five assists) must shoulder extra attacking responsibilities for the away side.

SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:

Raatsie; Bronkhorst, Widell, Meissen, Janssen; Naujoks, Carlen; Fernandes, Yegoian, De Regt; Wlodarczyk

PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:

Kovar; Dest, Flamingo, Gasiorowski, Salah-Eddine; Schouten, Saibari, Veerman; Perisic, Pepi, Bajraktarevic

We say: SBV Excelsior 1-3 PSV Eindhoven

Although Excelsior have found some defensive resilience in recent weeks, facing PSV, even without the injured Van Bommel, will be far from an easy task for the promoted side.

With more attacking firepower in reserve, Bosz’s team should return to winning ways in Rotterdam to preserve second place at least this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.