Potentially, the pick of the matches in the Eredivisie this weekend will take place at De Grolsch Veste, where FC Twente will play host to PSV Eindhoven on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts are currently in third place in the league standings with 27 points after 12 matches, while the visitors are leading the way and are already seven points ahead of the defending champions Feyenoord.
Match preview
© Reuters
Twente have been very good this season, but Joseph Oosting would probably have welcomed the international break to give him a couple of weeks to address the issues that have crept into his side's performances over the last few weeks.
The Tukkers played out a 3-3 draw in their last match against NEC, but they were cruising at 3-1 with 15 minutes to go before squandering their lead to record their third draw in four league matches.
In addition, each of those draws would have been seen as two points dropped rather than one gained, considering their opponents were Heracles, Utrecht and NEC, all of whom are in the bottom six.
Nevertheless, Twente are still unbeaten in their last eight matches, which included handing Feyenoord their first defeat of the season, and they will now try to do likewise against PSV, though it will not be easy with the form their opponents have shown this term.
While the visitors may be the favourites heading into this match, the hosts have held their own in this fixture and are unbeaten in their last six matches against PSV on their home patch dating back to 2018.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, PSV's start to the season has been nothing short of incredible, and while they have always been a team capable of contending for the league title, this degree of dominance is unprecedented for them.
The Peasants secured their 12th consecutive league victory at home against PEC Zwolle before the international break, maintaining their perfect start to the 2023-24 Eredivisie campaign, while they are also the only side in the league yet to taste defeat.
That result also marked a significant moment for The Farmers, as they are now the first side in history to score three or more goals in 11 consecutive league matches, currently on 45 for the season to date.
Peter Bosz's flawless record of 12 wins in 12 also makes his side just the fourth team ever to win each of their first dozen matches in a single Eredivisie campaign, and they seem well on their way to chasing down the all-time record of 17 in a row, set by themselves back in 1987-88 under Guus Hiddink.
The real test for the hosts starts now, though, and it will be interesting to see if they can keep their stellar form going with a tough fixture swing now upon them, which also includes facing Feyenoord, Heerenveen and AZ Alkmaar in succession before the winter break.
Team News
© Reuters
Michal Sadilek will be allowed to return to action for this match after sitting out his side's draw against NEC for the red card he received against Utrecht at the start of the month.
Joshua Brenet (muscle) and Naci Unuvar (knock) are ruled out through injury and are expected to remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.
In the opposite camp, Noa Lang has missed the last eight matches with a hamstring injury, but reports in the week suggest that the winger could be available for selection in this match.
However, Mauro Junior (knee), Armando Obispo (knee) and Armel Bella-Kotchap (shoulder) are all ruled out for the visitors due to injury.
After scoring their third against PEC Zwolle, Luuk de Jong has now netted in each of his last four games in all competitions, leaving him just three goals behind Santiago Gimenez and Vangelis Pavlidis at the top of the Golden Boot standings.
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Sampsted, Hilgers, Propper, Smal; Steijn, Kjolo, Eiting; Vlap, Ugalde, Rots
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Teze, Silva, Boscagli, Dest; Schouten, Veerman; Bakayoko, Til, Lozano; de Jong
We say: FC Twente 3-3 PSV Eindhoven
While PSV have been sensational this season, their run of fixtures gets significantly more difficult from here on, starting with a Twente side that are very difficult to beat on their home patch. The hosts handed Feyenoord their first defeat of the season last month, and we feel they may be able to bring PSV's winning run to an end in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
