There is no stadium with which PSV has a worse relationship than Rotterdam's Kuip. A year ago, Phillip Cocu's team won at De Kuip for the first time in five seasons, but PSV has not won two consecutive away matches at Feyenoord since the 1980-81 season. On Sunday, PSV must deal with the dark clouds above the Kuip to turn the title race on its head.
Poor track record in Rotterdam
There is no team in the Eredivisie that won from PSV more often than Feyenoord (49 times), no stadium outside the Philips Stadion in which a PSV player was red carded more often than the Kuip (7 times) and no turf pitch on which PSV won as little as that located in Rotterdam-Zuid (11 out of 60 times). Anyone who values statistics from the past can conclude in advance that PSV will face a terribly difficult task on Carnival Sunday. And that in a game that Cocu's team must win to definitively start the race to catch up with Feyenoord - the difference between the two teams is 8 points. However, there is also hope.
Last season, PSV won 2-0 in Rotterdam. De Jong and Van Ginkel did not score, Moreno and Narsingh did
Form rising
Feyenoord, who like PSV have won their past six games, never managed to win their first seven premier league matches of a calendar year. Feyenoord captain Dirk Kuyt lost 12 of his 18 encounters with PSV and PSV itself, under Cocu's leadership, is already 24 Eredivisie games without a loss outside of Eindhoven. PSV's form is also on the rise. In the last 5 duels, it scored 16 times. That's as many times as the 12 games before that.
Arrival of Van Ginkel good for De Jong
That rising form cannot be separated from the arrival of Marco van Ginkel. The midfielder has accounted for 4 goals and 2 assists since his arrival, and with him on the pitch, Luuk de Jong is also flourishing again. The captain, who struggled with his form at times before the winter break, stands at 3 goals and 3 assists in 2017. Last Saturday, he scored his 100th league goal of his career. Brother Siem has yet to score this calendar year, but may label Feyenoord as one of his favorite opponents. In 11 games, he scored as many as 7 goals against the Rotterdammers and only lost once.