Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Champions League clash between PSV Eindhoven and Girona, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Both outside the Champions League playoff places with three games played, PSV Eindhoven and Girona will fight it out for maximum points when they meet on Tuesday.
Despite dominating Dutch football, PSV have yet to win in the league phase, while their Catalan counterparts got off the mark late last month.
Match preview
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PSV have made a superb start to their Eredivisie title defence, winning 10 straight games before suffering their first defeat at the weekend, but are still seeking a first victory in this season’s Champions League.
An opening 3-1 loss to Juventus has been followed by two draws: both 1-1, at home to Sporting Lisbon and then away to Paris Saint-Germain.
Last time out, they took the lead in Paris, through Noa Lang‘s first-half strike, but after coming under plenty of pressure they ultimately had to settle for one point.
The Eindhoven side will try to move into the top 24 – thereby putting themselves into a playoff place – by winning at the fourth attempt, as they return to Phillips Stadion. However, a win over Lens last term is PSV’s only success in their last 12 Champions League home matches, having drawn four of the last five.
Their European form may be patchy, but on the domestic scene they have been going full gas since the start of last season, when they finished with a record-breaking tally of 91 points en route to securing the title.
Peter Bosz‘s side eclipsed Ajax’s previous total of 89, but it was the Amsterdam club that came out on top in Saturday’s De Topper, winning 3-2 at Johan Cruijff Arena.
Nonetheless, they still lead the table, having scored 35 goals and conceded six; defeat to Ajax was just PSV’s second league loss in 61 matches, during which they have racked up 190 goals by scoring in every game.
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While their hosts are a longstanding fixture in UEFA competition and were even crowned European champions in 1988, Girona are first-timers in Europe this season, following their remarkable rise from obscurity.
After conceding a 90th-minute own goal to lose 1-0 in Paris on their continental debut, the Catalan club were then beaten 3-2 at home by PSV’s Dutch rivals Feyenoord, before going on to taste success against Slovan Bratislava.
Wing-back Miguel Gutierrez was the star of the show in a 2-0 home win: along with scoring the opening goal, he created more chances, completed more dribbles and won more duels than anyone else.
Head coach Michel may be a rookie at the elite level, but last term he led Girona to their highest league placing ever in only their fourth La Liga season, and they are now improving after a slower start to the current campaign.
After losing several key players in the summer, they won only two of their first 10 games across all competitions, but Saturday’s spectacular 4-3 win over Leganes – in which Gutierrez again opened the scoring – was their fourth success in six.
PSV Eindhoven Champions League form:
PSV Eindhoven form (all competitions):
Girona Champions League form:
Girona form (all competitions):
Team News
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PSV have several stars sidelined ahead of Tuesday’s game, as Netherlands internationals Jerdy Schouten (hamstring) and Joey Veerman (groin) join Hirving Lozano (muscular) on the hosts’ injury list.
Sergino Dest is also ruled out by a serious knee injury, but Ivan Perisic passed a fitness test to feature against Ajax and scored his team’s second goal.
Though Johan Bakayoko provides stiff competition, Perisic could again support Luuk de Jong in the final third: the latter won 14 of his 15 aerial duels against PSG and is sure to pose a threat to Girona’s defence.
Meanwhile, the visitors welcomed Oriol Romeu back from a thigh injury last week, and the ex-Barcelona midfielder could start in Eindhoven.
Alejandro Frances and Arnaut Danjuma are both doubts due to hamstring issues, though, and Michel’s list of absentees is already lengthy.
Cristian Portu (ankle), Viktor Tsygankov (hamstring), Yaser Asprilla (ankle), Jhon Solis (muscular), Abel Ruiz (thigh), Ivan Martin (adductor) and goalkeeper Pau Lopez (hand) all feature in a packed treatment room.
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Karsdorp, Flamingo, Boscagli, Dams; Tillman, Saibari; Perisic, Til, Lang; De Jong
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Juanpe, D. Lopez, Krejci; Martinez, Herrera, Romeu, Gutierrez; Van de Beek, Gil; Miovski
We say: PSV Eindhoven 2-1 Girona
Though they have failed to replicate their stellar domestic form in Europe – even on home soil – PSV can surely score more than once against an injury-hit Girona side.
It should be an open contest between two enterprising teams, and the hosts may just edge it, moving above their Spanish rivals in the table.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.