The ball will start rolling again in the Eredivisie on Saturday after a short international break. PSV will take on Fortuna Sittard at home, but will have to do it without Noa Lang. The injured striker is likely to be out longer than expected, according to head coach Peter Bosz.
Noa fell out injured in the first half of the 4-0 win at Sparta Rotterdam and also had to miss the international period with Oranje. The injury seems more serious than the coach had hoped. "It's worse than last time. Against Fortuna Sittard he will definitely not be there and it looks like it will not be limited to this weekend." Malik Tillman and Isaac Babadi are fully recovered, Bosz announced. Armando Obispo and Mauro Júnior, already injured for a longer period, are training again but are not yet fit enough to make minutes played in PSV 1.
Rotate
The PSV head coach acknowledges that Noa will be missed, but also praises the depth in his selection. "We miss a good football player, but then again we can replace him with a good player. That says enough about the breadth in our team." Hirving Lozano, also an outfielder by trade, can take over Noa's spot. Bosz speaks highly of the substitution of 'Chucky' against Sparta Rotterdam. "That's the Lozano the PSV fans know, he played a very good game," he said.
Defensively strong
PSV has only conceded two goals in eight matches so far. Should PSV keep the nil against Fortuna Sittard, it will match the club record of fewest goals against after nine matches (two, in 1977-1978). Defensively, then, the club leaves little to be desired, but according to Peter Bosz, it is precisely the forward players that catch his eye. "Defending starts with them. In general, we give away relatively few chances, thanks to good organization and keeping up the pressure in attack."