PSV vs Real Sociedad: An intense game in Eindhoven

PSV are in good form ahead of the match against Real Sociedad. Naturally, the home side will try to make up for their very poor encounter with the Spanish clubs. It won’t be easy to do because Real Sociedad are a tough opponent. It’s going to be an exciting encounter at the Philips Arena.

This season, PSV managed to play in the qualifying stage of the Champions League. Benfica challenged Rogers Schmidt’s side. In Lisbon, the Red and Whites lost 1-2. In Eindhoven, the teams failed to produce any action, with Benfica advancing to the group stage of Europe’s most prestigious tournament and PSV advancing to the Europa League. As for their performance in the Dutch league, they are progressing without a hitch - 100% after four games. The club tops the Eredivisie table, two points ahead of closest pursuer Ajax.

Real Sociedad began the new La Liga season with an away match against Barcelona. Imanol Alguacil’s side played poorly defensively and conceded four goals. The Real Sociedad players could reply with only two goals. Three successful performances followed. First, the club defeated Rayo Vallecano at home, and then they were stronger than Levante with a 1-0 win in both games. On the eve of the trip to Eindhoven, the away side scored two unanswered goals against Cadiz. Real Sociedad are currently sitting in fourth place in the Spanish championship table.

At the Philips Stadium, PSV and Real Sociedad will play their first-ever head-to-head game.

• PSV have scored at least two goals in their last three Europa League games;
• Real Sociedad are without a positive result in their last five Europa League games;
• PSV have conceded the first goal in eight of their last ten matches in all competitions.

Real Sociedad cannot boast good statistics in matches against Spanish teams. In total, the Red and Blues have played 32 games against La Liga clubs in all competitions but have only managed to achieve a positive outcome on five occasions (12 draws and 15 defeats). Real Sociedad approach the upcoming meeting in good form. It will be difficult for the club to rectify those numbers. For the first time since the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons, the San Sebastian side has qualified for two straight European competitions (the club also featured in the Europa League in the previous season).

Another interesting statistic concerns PSV and their coach Rogier Schmidt. The Dutch club scored before half-time in all games in the previous Europa League competition. As for Roger Schmidt. he boasts a winning percentage of 73% of his games in the Europa League. This is the best number among the coaches who have not yet won the tournament but have played 15+ games. Given all these statistics and the current state of both teams at the Philips Stadium, we expect an exciting game. In the upcoming match, I suggest paying attention to the following lines:

• Total Over (2.5) goals for 1.77;
• PSV to score in the first half for 1.90;
• Both teams to score and Total Over (2.5) goals for 2.04.