PSV host Feyenoord on Super Sunday. Following a poor run of form, the two teams have returned to winning ways. PSV have won their last three games while Feyenoord are currently unbeaten in twelve Eredivisie games.
Unbeaten under Advocaat
Feyenoord have remained unbeaten since Dick Advocaat agreed to take over at Feyenoord after Jaap Stam’s departure. Advocaat, who has a wealth of experience, had two spells as head coach at PSV. He guided PSV to the Eredivisie title in the 1996/97 season, when PSV interim head coach Ernest Faber was one of the first-team squad players. Faber was Advocaat’s assistant in the 2012/13 season when PSV won the Dutch Super Cup and finished second to champions in the Eredivisie, in spite of having scored 103 goals.
PSV keep on marching
PSV are brimming with confidence, having chalked off three wins in a row. They are just one point below Feyenoord, who have a game in hand. PSV are often clinical in the closing stages, having snatched several wins at the death. They have scored sixteen goals in the final fifteen minutes of a game this season so far. FC Utrecht have netted fourteen goals in the closing stages. PSV also showed ruthlessness in front of goal in the closing stages last season, with a record 31 goals.
Afellay
Ibrahim Afellay cherishes fond memories of Sunday’s opponents Feyenoord. He was nineteen years old, when he scored his first goal ever in a PSV shirt in the 4-2 win over Feyenoord on 15 May 2005. He netted the opening goal and also had the assist for PSV’s fourth goal, scored by Mark van Bommel.
Click here to see the highlights of PSV v Feyenoord on 15 May 2005
Last defeat at home
Feyenoord last claimed a win in the Philips Stadion on 18 September 2016, when Eric Botteghin scored a goal to secure a 1-0 win for Feyenoord. The Rotterdam outfit recorded a 2-1 victory in the season’s reverse fixture in de Kuip.
Last season
Last season’s corresponding fixture in the Philips Stadion ended in a 1-1 draw. After Sven van Beek had been sent off, Nicolai Jorgensen put 10-man Feyenoord ahead but Hirving Lozano scored an equaliser for PSV just two minutes later.
Lammers struck twice from the spot
Sam Lammers could become the second Eredivisie player this season to have converted a penalty in three consecutive games in a row. AZ player Teun Koopmeiners achieved this feat in September. Lammers could also become the first PSV player to have scored a goal in at least three consecutive games after Luuk de Jong had his name on the score sheet in six matches in a row in March/April 2019.
Gakpo most valuable player
Cody Gakpo made his full PSV debut in the 1-3 win over Feyenoord on 25 February 2018. Santiago Arias put PSV ahead and Steven Bergwijn doubled the lead. Tonny Vilhena pulled one back for Feyenoord after the break but Gaston Pereiro restored a two-goal advantage in the closing stages, when Gakpo had replaced Bergwijn. Just like Sam Lammers, Cody Gakpo has also scored a goal in two consecutive games. With six goals and six assists, he is PSV’s most valuable player after Donyell Malen. Feyenoord player Steven Berghuis is the mist valuable player of the Eredivisie after Ajax player Dusan Tadic. Berghuis has scored fourteen goals and has seven assists to his name.
Historic victory
PSV inflicted the heaviest-ever defeat on Feyenoord with a 10-0 drubbing on 24 October 2010. Feyenoord had Kelvin Leerdam sent off in the first-half but only trailed 2-0 at half-time before PSV ran riot after the break. Jonathan Reis hit a hat-trick with Balázs Dzsudzsak and Jeremain Lens each scoring two goals. Ola Toivonen, and Orlando Engelaar joined in the rout while Feyenoord defender Bruno Martins Indi scored an own goal.
Referee Dennis Higler has been chosen to officiate PSV v Feyenoord. Kick-off time in the Philips Stadion is 14.30.