Last season, head coach Erik ten Hag's FC Utrecht finished a handsome fourth in the Eredivisie. This year the Utrechters should make it difficult for the traditional top three. After a good start with nine points from four games, the team went down hard last week against still scoreless FC Twente. Ten Hag's team therefore has something to put right.
Club record
FC Utrecht is performing very strongly in its own Galgenwaard. The number eight ranked club has been unbeaten in the league for nine consecutive home matches. Of those nine matches, the club won no less than eight. Utrecht can break a club record against PSV. If goalkeeper David Jensen does not concede a goal, Utrecht will have kept zero for the first time in history in seven consecutive home games.
Least shots against
The standard situations are not yet running smoothly in the Domstad. Utrecht is the only team that has not scored a single goal from a standard situation this season. PSV managed to do so three times. Defensively, Ten Hag has things in better shape. Of all clubs, Utrecht faced the fewest shots: 41. PSV faced 65 shots. Nevertheless, Jensen had to fish the ball out of the net more often than his colleague on the other side Jeroen Zoet: six to five times.
PSV past
Two men with a PSV past are walking around Utrecht. Ten Hag was assistant coach in Eindhoven from 2009 to 2012. Midfielder Zakaria Labyad went through youth training there and played 67 games in the main squad from 2010 to 2012. Labyad is in fine form this season. He signed for two goals and two assists. The complete FC Utrecht selection can be found here.