PSV will take on sc Heerenveen in round 31 of the Eredivisie. The Frisians have regularly been an obstacle for PSV in previous years, but a new three-pointer will allow the Main Power to win at the Abe Lenstra Stadium for the first time since 2011 in two consecutive seasons.
Thursday night could be very special. A win means that PSV will become champions for the 25th time in their club's history if pursuers Feyenoord slip up. It would be the first time an Eredivisie team has won the title in Heerenveen. Feyenoord's game starts later, however, so PSV will already be on their way back if it were to happen.
The previous meeting this season ended in a 2-0 victory for PSV, with Guus Til and Ricardo Pepi finding the net.
Angstgegner
sc Heerenveen has proven to be a tough opponent in away games in previous years. Indeed, for the first time since the 2011-2012 season, PSV can beat the Frisians twice in one season. Of the last seventeen meetings between red-white and blue-white, only one was lost, seven were won and nine ended in a draw. Last season's win, through a late goal by Cody Gakpo, ended a negative run of nine games without a win against sc Heerenveen.
Form dip
Head coach Kees van Wonderen's side triumphed last round of play for the first time since early March and the number of goals against is also significantly higher than before. Sc Heerenveen's last three home games have involved at least three goals per game. A new loss in front of their own crowd means the 150th defeat at the highest level in the Netherlands. The last victory against PSV dates back to September 2017, when goals by Arber Zeneli and Reza Ghoochannejhad were good for a 2-0 win.
Goals
PSV will meet an opponent Thursday night who, under the current coach's leadership, managed to win once in eleven games against a team from the traditional top three. They have conceded a total of seventeen goals against Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV this season. Only Heracles Almelo (23), Vitesse (20) and PEC Zwolle (18) conceded more goals. The club's top scorer on the Frisian side is Pelle van Amersfoort. The striker scored seven goals in Heerenveen's last 10 Eredivisie games and ten in total.
Mateja Kežman is the PSV player with the most goals to his name against sc Heerenveen. He scored the same number of goals in eight appearances and also provided two assists. Should Walter Benítez again manage to keep the goal clean, it will be the first time since 2004-2005 that he has managed to achieve at least eighteen clean sheets in one season. If Johan Bakayoko gets on the scoreboard again, he will be the youngest Eredivisie player ever to have a goal-scoring streak of five consecutive games.
View all content surrounding sc Heerenveen - PSV here.