Our prediction for this Netherlands Eredivisie match:
After saving one point in a 3-3 draw with Twente, PSV will look to return to keep their title hopes alive when they host RKC to their Philips Stadion on Sunday afternoon. PSV have been scoring goals for fun in all competitions of late, and they are likely to stick to their attacking style of play. Roger Schmidt’s troops are four points behind league leaders Ajax, meaning that this has to go down as a must-win game for them.
Midfielder Erick Gutierrez is back from the Conference League ban, while all Mwene, Thomas, and Sambo should miss out with injuries. RKC, on the other hand, sit in the danger zone, six points clear of the relegation zone. Joseph Oosting’s troops are undefeated in the previous three league fixtures, but PSV will pose a much bigger threat for the visiting side than their previous rivals. Both Sebbe Augustijns and David Min are rated doubtful for the match.
Highlighted Player (Mario Gotze):
Mario Gotze is a German midfielder, who played for Ronsberg and Eintrach Hombruch during his youth career before joining Borussia Dortmund in 2001. He made a great progress during his spell at the Borussia Dortmund’s youth academy and on 21 November, 2009 he made his Bundesliga debut for the Millionaires.
Gotze scored 22 goals in 83 league appearances for the club between 2009 and 2013 and he joined Borussia Dortmund’s bitterest rivals Bayern Munich on April, 2013. The German midfielder, who is capable of playing as a striker as well, failed to impress in the 2015/2016 Bundesliga campaign, but it has to be noted that he was struggling with injury at the start of the season.
Gotze won three Bundesliga trophies with Bayern Munich, but at the end of the 2015/2016 season he returned to Borussia Dortmund. In 2014 he represented Germany at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil and he scored the winner in the final against Argentina. Mario Gotze was born in Memmingen on 3 June, 1992.
Highlighted Team (Waalwijk):
RKC Waalwijk is a Dutch club that competes in the Eredivisie. RKC returned to the Dutch top flight in the 2019/20 season, and they were more than fortunate not to suffer relegation back to Eerste Divisie. Fred Grim’s men were stuck at the bottom of the table when the season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As a result, they did not drop to the Dutch second tier. RKC play home games at Mandemakers Stadion, the venue which can hold only 7,500 spectators. RKC Waalwijk are well known for their yellow shirts with blue strips, but their away kit is mainly black. The Mandemakers Stadion outfit have never won the national championship.
RKC, though, represented the Netherlands in European competitions in the past, with team taking part in Intertoto Cup on four occasions. Willem II are seen as one of the club’s main rivals, with the two teams facing each other in the Brabantse derby.