PSV Eindhoven travel to Portugal on Thursday for a tie against Estoril which could book their place in the knockout rounds of the Europa League.
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The win over Panathinaikos in the last round has put PSV in a commanding position in group E, and if they avoid defeat in Portugal then they will be safely through to the next round.
Phillip Cocu’s side go into the game still top of the Eredivisie, but their lead over Ajax was cut down to two points after a draw with Groningen and one eye from the coach will definitely be on Sunday’s crucial tie against Feyenoord.
Stijn Schaars will miss the match after suffering another injury at the weekend, while Andres Guardado has made it into the squad despite coming off against Groningen. Cocu may look to make a few changes to keep some players fresh for Sunday.
Possible PSV line-up: Pasveer, Brenet, Willems, Rekik, Bruma, Hendrix, Maher, Wijnaldum, Depay, Narsingh, De Jong
In the reverse tie earlier in the competition PSV scraped a 1-0 win over Estoril at the Philips Stadion, and since that match the Portuguese side have been on a poor run, winning only two of their last ten matches.
At the weekend Estoril were unlucky not to beat Porto, conceding a 94th minute goal in a 2-2 draw, and their performance may give them confidence heading into the tie on Thursday. The Portuguese side need to beat PSV to have any chance of qualifying into the next round.
Possible Estoril line-up: Kieszek, Anderson, Ruben, Tavares, Miguel, Amado, Esiti, Seba, Kuca, Toze
Finishing top of the group seems unlikely for PSV with Dinamo Moscow only needing a win against Panathinaikos in Russia to seal 1st place before the two teams meet in Eindhoven in two weeks, but Cocu will want his side to seal progression on Thursday. Estoril will look to attack, which could play into PSV’s hands on the counter attack, and if the front three of Depay, De Jong, and Narsingh can find their killer instinct then a win should follow.
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