PSV vs Groningen – News and Probable Lineups

After breaking their winless run with a much-needed victory, defending Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven will return to Philips Stadion this Sunday, looking to achieve their first home win of the 2026-27 season.

Peter Bosz’s squad managed to secure a 2-1 win over SBV Excelsior in Rotterdam, consequently ending their two-match winless streak, and now aims for back-to-back league victories against a Groningen team they typically perform well against.

Match overview

Since clinching their third consecutive Eredivisie title at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, PSV have seen a decrease in strength with Ismael Saibari’s departure to Bayern Munich during the off-season and Joey Veerman’s recent move to Borussia Dortmund.

Both of these departures leave Bosz’s pursuit of four straight league titles in uncertainty, although PSV remain the favorites to secure the championship.

Their strategy remains unchanged: to score significantly more goals than their opponents, a high-risk, high-reward approach favored by the attacking-minded manager, who is striving to make history this season.

They have done well to turn around their less than ideal start to the new campaign, which featured a 4-0 humiliation by AZ Alkmaar in the Johan Cruyff Shield and a 2-2 draw in their league opener against Fortuna Sittard, managing to earn a 2-1 victory over Excelsior in their most recent outing.

With four points from six entering this weekend, fans are hopeful that their team will achieve a first win at Eindhoven this season as they face Groningen, aiming once more to defeat De FC.

Furthermore, Dick Lukkien is undoubtedly aware of his team’s historical struggles against PSV, having suffered five consecutive defeats to them and totaling nine losses in their last ten encounters.

Groningen’s sole victory in the past ten matches against PSV came in October 2022, a rare 4-2 win that stands out against the backdrop of their otherwise disappointing record in this fixture.

Nevertheless, achieving a perfect start to the season with two wins from two matches, a notable achievement they share with AZ, the Pride of the North are looking to secure three consecutive victories at the expense of the reigning champions.

In order to do so, Groningen must break a seven-match losing streak in Eindhoven, where they haven’t won since March 2014. This unfortunate trend stretches over 11 matches, in which they failed to score in six encounters.

Such statistics are quite alarming ahead of Sunday’s fixture, yet Lukkien will surely encourage his players to try to upset the champions, who have a tendency to be defensively vulnerable.

Team News

Jerdy Schouten will certainly miss this weekend’s match due to a significant knee injury, while Filip Kostic, Alassane Plea, Couhaib Driouech (thigh), and Noah Fernandez (knock) are under evaluation.

Ruben van Bommel, who returned after a lengthy injury absence last season, made a scoring comeback against Excelsior, and Ricardo Pepi also opened his account for the campaign.

With Veerman and Saibari no longer part of the squad, Ivan Perisic and Guus Til are expected to shoulder even more responsibility in the attacking third for Boeren, with Perisic already providing an assist in the league match against Fortuna a fortnight ago.

The Groningen side will assess Marco Rente, but they will be without Tyrique Mercera, Ryan Metu, Oskar Zawada (knock), and Malcolm Jeng (Achilles).

Thom van Bergen has been a standout player for Groningen so far in the 2026-27 season, having scored two goals and provided one assist as they head into their match at Philips Stadion.

Two-goal forward Brynjolfur Darri Willumsson and wide player David van der Werff have also started the new season on a positive note and have the potential to challenge the Lightbulbs this weekend.

PSV Eindhoven probable starting XI:

Kovar; Dest, Flamingo, Obispo, Fernandez; Junior, Wanner; Perisic, Til, Van Bommel; Pepi

Groningen probable starting XI:

Vaessen; Schreuders, Blokzijl, Van der Laan, Prins; The Young, Country; Van der Werff, Van Bergen, Clement; Willumsson

Despite the recent exits of significant creative players like Veerman, Bosz’s attacking philosophy ensures that scoring opportunities will be generated against an unbeaten Groningen outfit.

The visitors have momentum in their attacking approach, which could trouble the PSV defense, but the quality of the hosts’ attacking quartet—Perisic, Til, Van Bommel, and Pepi—should ultimately tip the balance in favour of the champions during what is expected to be a fiercely contested match.