PSV Eindhoven head to England for the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-finals clash against Leicester City on Thursday. The kick-off is at 20.00 BST.
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PSV Eindhoven started the season in the qualifiers for the Champions League but missed out on the group stages to Benfica. They then dropped into the Europa League where they finished third in their group behind AS Monaco and Real Sociedad. In the Europa Conference League, PSV saw off Maccabi tel Aviv before a wonderful 4-0 win at FC Copenhagen saw them reach the quarter-finals 8-4 on aggregate.
Now, Standing between PSV Eindhoven and a place in the last four of the competition is English Premier League side Leicester City.
Brendan Rodgers side started the season in the Europa League but they finished third in their group behind Napoli and Spartak Moscow. They then dropped into the Conference League where they defeated Randers 7-2 on aggregate before a narrow win over Rennes saw them reach the quarter-finals.
PSV go into the game on the back of a 3-3 draw at FC Twente which saw Roger Schmidt’s side come back from 3-0 down to take a point. The draw is a blow to PSV’s title hopes and they are lagging behind Ajax in second.
Leicester City earned a 1-1 draw at Manchester United this weekend, which means the Foxes remain 10th in the Premier League.
Team News
PSV have Cody Gakpo back fit and ready to start after a slight injury, but Erik Gutierrez is not available due to suspension. Andre Ramalho made his return against FC Twente at the weekend and should come into the starting line-up.
Possible PSV line-up: Drommel, Mauro Junior, Max, Ramalho, Boscagli, Sangare, Veerman, Gotze, Gakpo, Madueke, Zahavi
Nampalys Mendy, Danny Ward, Ryan Bertrand, Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy are all missing for Leicester City, but Luke Thomas is available again.
Possible Leicester City line-up: Schmeichel; Justin, Fofana, Evans, Castagne; Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall; Albrighton, Maddison, Barnes; Iheanacho
Odds
Leicester City 11/10 Draw 13/5 PSV Eindhoven 11/5
Can PSV come away from Leicester with a good result?
This is a big test for PSV Eindhoven after their defensive woes at the weekend against FC Twente, but they are capable of coming away from Leicester with a good result.
Cody Gakpo has been linked with a move to England in recent weeks and he will be eager to show he is up to the task by firing PSV to victory. However, PSV’s defence will need to be at their best to prevent Leicester from netting. Luckily for Schmidt, Andre Ramalho is back.
The main thing for PSV is to take a positive result to Eindhoven and even a narrow defeat does not dent their hopes of making the semi-finals.
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