Preview: Sparta Rotterdam vs. PSV Eindhoven - prediction, team news, lineups

Sparta Rotterdam are set to welcome PSV Eindhoven on Saturday afternoon, with the home side winning 1-0 against Fortuna Sittard in their previous league fixture.

Meanwhile, PSV will be hoping to get back to winning ways after failing to secure a win in their last two games, including a 3-1 loss against AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday.

Match preview

Sparta have endured a mediocre 2020-21 season thus far, having registered six wins and seven defeats in their opening 16 games.

As previously mentioned, their latest result witnessed a narrow win against Sittard, with Lennart Thy scoring the only goal of the game.

This means that Henk Fraser's men occupy eighth place in the table, but are six points behind Groningen, with Danny Buijs's side currently possessing a game in hand.

They will need a win this Saturday if they plan on closing that gap, however Sparta have failed to win their last two games at home, with the team performing better on the road in recent weeks.

PSV, on the other hand, have not won since their 4-1 triumph against VVV-Venlo in December - suffering a 3-1 loss to AZ on Wednesday, resulting in their first home defeat of the season.

It is also worth noting that they picked up a 2-2 draw against league leaders Ajax last week, despite being 2-0 ahead within the first 20 minutes of the game.

They are also unbeaten in their previous four away games, however three of these have been draws.

Roger Schmidt's men currently sit in fourth place in the table, just one point behind Vitesse, having secured 10 league wins as they head into matchday 17.

These two teams last met just two months ago when PSV managed a narrow 1-0 win against Sparta, with Donyell Malen netting the only goal of the game.

Sparta Rotterdam Eredivisie form: WLWLWW

PSV Eindhoven Eredivisie form: LDWWWD PSV Eindhoven form (all competitions): LDWWWW

Team News

Sparta have just one injury concern when they take on PSV this weekend, with goalkeeper Tim Coremans currently nursing a knee problem.

Fraser is expected to field the same side that won against Sittard earlier this week, keeping Thy up front, with the striker netting in their recent victory.

PSV, however, have a list of players expected to miss the upcoming game, including Mario Gotze, who is currently sidelined with a muscle problem.

Both Cody Gakpo and Richard Ledezma are also ruled out, with Maximiliano Romero set to miss the rest of the season.

However, PSV fans may be pleased to hear that Chelsea loanee Marco Van Ginkel finally returned to action on Wednesday, after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The Dutchman could make the bench this weekend.

Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup: Okoye; Abels, Beugelsdijk, Heylen, Pinto; Mijnans, Harroui, Auassar, Duarte; Engels, Thy

PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup: Mvogo; Dumfries, Teze, Boscagli, Max; Sangare, Rosario; Thomas, Ihattaren; Zahavi, Malen

We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-3 PSV Eindhoven

Despite their recent defeat, we expect PSV to claim a comfortable victory when they travel to Rotterdam, with the visitors currently 13 points ahead of their opponents. However, Sparta should get at least one goal this weekend as PSV continue to highlight their defensive issues, having conceded seven goals in their last four games.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.