Phillip Cocu indicated it on Tuesday: VVV-Venlo is in form. PSV will have to play at its best to beat the Limburgers, who were beaten 5-2 at De Koel in late October, again. In Limburg, PSV only took distance from VVV-Venlo after halftime.
VVV surprises
The Limburg-based promotion team has finished a fine first half of the season in 12th place in the league. However, head coach Maurice Steijn's team also performed well in the KNVB Cup. Where VVV owed it to its standing to win in the second round against amateur club Blauw Geel'38, it surprised in the previous round with a 3-1 victory over FC Utrecht.
Cup encounters
It is not the first time that PSV and VVV meet in a KNVB Cup match. Both teams have played each other four times before since the introduction of professional football. PSV was the strongest in three of those duels and VVV continued the cup once. The last cup match between PSV and VVV was on November 27, 1996. PSV, with Phillip Cocu playing, won that match 2-1 in Venlo.
PSV influences
At VVV, two players with a PSV past stand out. In fact, Clint Leemans is the Venlo native's top marksman. The midfielder has already scored seven goals and provided three assists. He scored one of his goals against his old club: against PSV he scored the 1-1 draw from a penalty kick. The other old acquaintance in the VVV selection is Damian van Bruggen. Van Bruggen plays as a PSV-tenant in Venlo and has earned a place in the starting line-up as a defensive midfielder.
Support PSV
Some 31,000 tickets have already been sold, but there are still spots on the short sides, such as east bottom and top and west top at €10 per ticket. You can buy your tickets via PSV.nl/tickets or at entrance 11 at PSV Ticket Sales. Due to crowds, we advise everyone to order tickets online. Per ticket sold, € 1,- will go to Spieren voor Spieren.
Leemans in action against PSV earlier this season