Roger Schmidt hopes that Cody Gakpo can rejoin PSV's selection on Sunday. The Head Coach will decide on Saturday whether the Eindhoven striker can make his comeback against Feyenoord. 'We have had to miss him, Mario Götze and Noni Madueke during a number of important matches,' Schmidt said.
Feyenoord-out
The PSV head coach spoke those words Friday during the weekly press briefing. One of the important games the trio mentioned by Schmidt missed was the away game against Feyenoord. At De Kuip earlier this year, PSV lost flatteringly 3-1. "I am still convinced that we played a good game in Rotterdam," Schmidt reflected. "We made a number of mistakes, which allowed them to score and were not effective enough ourselves. That's not a coincidence. The remaining defense was not always in order and in front of goal we sometimes made the wrong choices. Sunday that has to improve."
Competitor
The gap with Feyenoord has grown to eight points in favor of PSV in recent weeks. On Sunday, PSV could make the gap seemingly unbridgeable, losing a rival for second place. "Of course they are another competitor. It's a team with a lot of individual qualities and a team that can tactically adapt to the standings during a match. You also saw that in January. We have to show that we have learned from that," Schmidt said.
Nijhuis
PSV - Feyenoord will be under the direction of referee Bas Nijhuis. In the media, the choice of the KNVB to have him whistle the topper was called piquant, given the earlier altercation between Schmidt and Nijhuis. The PSV head coach does not want to pay attention to that. "I haven't spoken to him yet. I've said enough about referees this season. I'll leave it at that. Maybe I've even talked about it a little too much," Schmidt said with a laugh. "I'm focusing on PSV. Every game we win brings us closer to a good starting position in the league."