RKC Waalwijk will host high-flying PSV Eindhoven on Saturday night, with the hosts eager to bounce back from their 2-0 loss against Groningen last week.

Meanwhile, the visitors will be hoping to maintain their superb form in Eredivisie as they continue to chase Ajax at the top of the table - currently sitting just three points behind the reigning champions.

Match preview

Fred Grim, now in charge of RKC Waalwijk, pictured in 2017 © Reuters

Waalwijk have endured a mediocre start to the 2020-21 season, having registered just three wins and three draws thus far, with Fred Grim's men in 12th position as they head into Saturday's game.

The home side have also suffered six defeats in their opening 12 matches, including one against Groningen last Saturday, with the only goals of the game coming from the opposing team as Ahmed El Messaoudi and Daniel van Kaam managed to get on the scoresheet.

In fact, Waalwijk have struggled going forward this campaign, having netted just 11 goals since the start of the season, with three of those goals coming in their 3-2 win against VVV-Venlo just two weeks ago.

If they do manage to claim the win this weekend, it could see them climb to ninth spot in the table, overtaking both PEC Zwolle and FC Utrecht.

PSV Eindhoven head coach Roger Schmidt pictured in October 2020 © Reuters

PSV, on the other hand, will be in high spirits after their 2-1 win over De Graafschap in the KNVB Cup in midweek, progressing to the third round of the competition.

Domestically, they have also had an excellent start to the season, losing just one game thus far - a 2-1 defeat against Vitesse back in October, as they currently occupy second place in the table.

Their recent league match ended in a 2-1 triumph against Utrecht, with Donyell Malen and Mohamed Ihattaren netting for Roger Schmidt's team.

The German coach will also be pleased about his side's positive start to the Europa League this term, with PSV putting in a dominant display against AC Omonia in matchday six of the competition - topping their group and qualifying for the knockout stages.

They last met Waalwijk in September last year, when PSV managed a 3-1 victory against their opponents in the 2019-20 Eredivisie season.

However, it is worth noting that in their previous 10 meetings, PSV have only managed a slightly better record - securing six wins against Waalwijk's four.

RKC Waalwijk Eredivisie form: LWWDLL

PSV Eindhoven Eredivisie form: WDWDWW
PSV Eindhoven form (all competitions): WWWDWW

Team News

PSV Eindhoven players celebrate in October 2020 © Reuters

Waalwijk fans will be pleased to know that they have no injuries or suspensions heading into this game, with Grim currently possessing a full-strength squad.

The Dutch manager is expected to make a few changes to the team that lost against Groningen last time round, bringing in Lennerd Daneels for Ola John on the left wing.

However, Finn Stokkers is likely to keep his place up front, with the striker managing three league goals thus far.

Unfortunately for PSV, the visitors have a number of injuries ahead of the weekend fixture, including Eran Zahavi and Maximiliano Romero.

Ryan Thomas, Armando Obispo and Erick Gutierrez are also doubtful, however the latter two players are now back in training.

RKC Waalwijk possible starting lineup:
Lamprou; Bakari, Meulensteen, Touba, Quasten; Van der Venne, Anita, Tahiri; Ngonge, Stokkers, Daneels

PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; Dumfries, Teze, Boscagli, Max; Rosario, Sangare; Gotze, Ihattaren; Gakpo, Malen

SM words green background

We say: RKC Waalwijk 0-2 PSV Eindhoven

Despite their injuries, we predict PSV to gain a comfortable victory away in Waalwijk on Saturday, with Schmidt's men desperate to continue their impressive form. The hosts, meanwhile, have struggled to find the back of the net this season, and we do not see them getting many past PSV at the weekend.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a PSV Eindhoven win with a probability of 67.7%. A draw had a probability of 18.4% and a win for RKC Waalwijk had a probability of 13.92%.

The most likely scoreline for a PSV Eindhoven win was 0-2 with a probability of 10.49%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.76%) and 0-1 (9.22%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.57%), while for a RKC Waalwijk win it was 2-1 (3.99%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 4.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that PSV Eindhoven would win this match.