Preview: PSV Eindhoven vs. Almere City - prediction, team news, lineups

The Farmers have established a healthy lead at the top of the table and will look to maintain it, while the Black Sheeps will hope to pull off an upset and steer further away from the relegation zone.

Match preview

PSV have endured a difficult week after seeing their Dutch Cup hopes dashed on Wednesday with a 1-0 defeat to arch-rivals Feyenoord, courtesy of a 31st-minute strike from Quinten Timber.

This came on the heels of dropping their first league points of the season last Sunday, drawing 1-1 with Utrecht, as Johan Bakayoko's early opener for the Farmers was cancelled out by Othman Boussaid's 53rd-minute equaliser.

With Ajax's long-standing dominance seemingly waning, PSV are capitalising on the reigning champions' struggles. Peter Bosz's men remain unbeaten after 18 league matches, boasting an unprecedented 10-point lead over second-placed Feyenoord.

Eindhoven return to home soil this weekend, where their fortress remains unbreached, having secured nine wins from nine matches. They are the league's most formidable home side, scoring a league-high 29 goals and conceding a paltry five in front of their own fans.

The Farmers welcome an unfamiliar opponent in Almere this weekend, with both teams having met just twice previously, and it resulted in comfortable victories for PSV on both occasions, scoring nine goals and conceding just one across those two encounters.

Almere held firm against Fortuna Sittard to secure a goalless draw on Wednesday evening at the Yanmar Stadion, extending their unbeaten run in the league to three games.

Alex Pastoor's men faced 11 attempts in the match but conceded only two on target, while keeping three consecutive Eredivisie clean sheets in a row.

However, the draw saw them slip to 13th place in the standings, with 20 points from 18 games, six points above the relegation playoff spot.

The Black Sheeps are back on the road, where they have fared relatively well so far, having picked up 11 of their total points on opposition turf, claiming points in five of their nine away games.

PSV Eindhoven Eredivisie form:

W

W

W

W

W

D

PSV Eindhoven form (all competitions):

D

D

W

W

D

L

Almere City Eredivisie form:

L

L

L

W

W

D

Almere City form (all competitions):

L

W

W

W

L

D

Team News

PSV will be without midfielder Ismael Saibari until February as he represents Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations. The 22-year-old contributed directly to six goals in 14 league appearances before departing for the tournament.

Southampton loanee Armel Bella-Kotchap's switch to Eindhoven has not been smooth sailing so far, with the German defender not featuring since October 8 due to injury.

Joey Veerman is another absentee for PSV, sidelined with a muscle injury until February, and last included in the matchday squad on January 17.

Almere's Faiz Mattoir has been out of action since the early stages of last season due to a knee injury, and will miss this weekend's game.

Thomas Robinet leads the scoring charts for Pastoor's side with seven league goals this season, and he's expected to partner Kornelius Hansen in attack once again.

PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:

Brouwer; Willems, Hoogma, Sonnenberg, Bultman, Wieckhoff; Hansson, De Keersmaecker, Vejinovic, Engels; Sankoh

Almere City possible starting lineup:

Ramaj; Rensch, Sutalo, Hato, Sosa; Hlynsson, Tahirovic, Taylor; Bergwijn, Brobbey, Berghuis

We say: PSV Eindhoven 3-1 Almere City

In this tie, PSV are overwhelming favourites and will view it as the ideal opportunity to bounce back from their Dutch Cup defeat to Feyenoord. We expect the home side to rack up plenty of goals, but the visitors should nick one in themselves.

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