Match history
Newcastle and PSV have met only twice previously, with Newcastle progressing 3-2 on aggregate in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup quarter-finals .
Newcastle
- With both sides needing points in the race for top-eight seeding in the Champions League 2025-26, this fixture has knockout implications and could see some high-intensity football.
- Newcastle have been inconsistent of late, with two wins in their last five matches.
- Eddie Howe has got his team to play with a compact 4-3-3 system in which they are solid in a mid-block, trigger pressing and looking for quick vertical transitions when they have the ball.
PSV
- PSV are on a different planet to the other teams in the Eredivisie, with 52 points from 19 matches, and have won their last five matches in all competitions.
- They beat Feyenoord 4-1 in the KNVB Beker midweek and have the squad depth to rotate in European nights while still starting strong.
- Peter Bosz has installed a high-pressing, possession-based approach with constant rotations in attack that can be lethal on the transition.
- The Dutch side have a number of players sharing the goalscoring responsibility, but Ismael Saibari is the breakout star of the team with a hat-trick against Feyenoord in January helping to fire the Eindhoven club into the lead in the table.
- Couhaib Driouech and Guus Til provide more options and Dennis Man, if he is fit enough to start after a knock, can offer pace and clinical finishing on the break.
Newcastle
- Newcastle have been prolific in attack this season but injuries to Fabian Schär and other central defenders have forced some rejigging that could be exposed by PSV’s pressing style.
- Harvey Barnes’ pace and eye for a late goal is a big threat, while Anthony Gordon brings a directness to Newcastle’s play that can be a problem for defences when combined with a creative player like Bruno Guimarães, who also has the ability to make the difference.
PSV
- The Dutch side have a number of players sharing the goalscoring responsibility, but Ismael Saibari is the breakout star of the team with a hat-trick against Feyenoord in January helping to fire the Eindhoven club into the lead in the table.
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Couhaib Driouech and Guus Til provide more options and Dennis Man, if he is fit enough to start after a knock, can offer pace and clinical finishing on the break.
- Couhaib Driouech
- Guus Til
- Dennis Man (fitness permitting)
Odds & markets
- Newcastle are 1.44 favourites to win this game while PSV are 5.75, but the Draw odds of 5.1 are still worth a small wager here, such is the importance of the occasion and the closeness of both teams in form.
- The Both Teams To Score odds of 1.5 and Over 2.5 Goals odds of 1.38 reflect the bookmakers’ expectation of an attacking game.
Prediction
- The contrast in styles should make for an intriguing clash in midfield and end-to-end football.
- The Both Teams To Score odds of 1.5 and Over 2.5 Goals odds of 1.38 reflect the bookmakers’ expectation of an attacking game, but we are taking the hosts to edge it in a high-scoring affair.
