PSV Eindhoven v FC Groningen
Football : Netherlands : Eredivisie
Saturday 25th Septewmber 2010 - Kickoff 19:45

PSV Eindhoven

PSV is second in the Eredivisie behind Ajax, trailing 2 points. PSV couldn't impress against Roda JC last sunday, and a second away draw in a row was a fact.

PSV just could not break down the tough organization of Roda JC, and were lucky Roda did not score on one of their few chances. A goalless draw was the result, and the title contenders are not as far as expected.

I feel that PSV play too cautious at times, and with the material available there are some questionmarks about certain tactics used by manager Rutten. They are able to blow away opponents with their offensive power, but their used tactics are holding back the players to excell to their abilities at times.

In the midweek cup match PSV had an easy match beating Sparta Rotterdam 3-0 without any trouble. It was a match where PSV didn't impress a second, but it was more than enough and all eyes are now on FC Groningen after this easy job.

Some first team regulars were rested against Sparta. Orlando Engelaar, Ola Toivonen and defenders Pieters and 'Maza' Rodriguez were held out of the starting line-up and should be fully fit for this match-up. Striker Koevermans who replaced Marcus Berg scored twice and proved to be a goalscorer again.

For this match Marcus Berg is suspended, but this is not such a bad thing in my opinion as he hasn't proved to be the convincing finisher yet. Either Toivonen or Koevermans will probably take over the striker role, and that's not a devaluation.

FC Groningen

FC Groningen are performing better than expected, with a third place and the same amount of points as PSV. So this is a top clash based on the amount of points and table positions, but do not be fooled - as FC Groningen are not as good as PSV quality wise.

Groningen are performing as collective and are good enough to fight for the fifth to eighth place, but more will be impossible. They have performed at their best at home, taking 10 points out of their 4 home matches, and away they have beaten hopeless Willem II and drew against AZ Alkmaar. Now they are visiting their first real challenging opponent, and I really doubt they can maintain their unbeaten status.

FC Groningen needed overtime against the amateurs of Haaglandia on Wednesday in their cup match, cracking the amateurs 4-1 in the extra time. Obviously this might not tell a full story, as those cup visits are sometimes harder than expected, but it says FC Groningen is just not a team that can challenge the top contenders at the moment.

FC Groningen played with almost their strongest line-up, except the injured topscorer Pedersen and ill defender Stenman. This is not an ideal preparation before a tough visit to Eindhoven, and it will not affect their morale in a positive way, having this trouble against an amateur team.

The Betting Verdict

PSV are not as far in their development as title contender as they hoped for, but are still much further than FC Groningen. PSV came through their cup match unscratched and resting several regulars, where Groningen need more work in their midweek match.

Now PSV is back at home where they have won all three matches with a goal difference of 12-2. With their qualities up front in the likes of Afellay, Toivonen, Dzsudzsak and Lens they will be a plague for FC Groningen if they play a forward game which I'm expecting.

Groningen will be pressed back more than they have been so far this season, and will rely on breaks to beat the PSV defense.

The PSV odds to win are fairly higher than usual in a home match, and I think this should be taken. At this point PSV is better than Groningen on all squares, and odds around 1.40 are huge compared to average 1.20 in these kind of matches.

Groningen's third place must be ignored in this case, and trust on PSV's superior qualities. Normally I'm not taking this kind of odds but for now I'll do so.

If you wanna spice up the odds, you could take -1,-1.5 or -1.5 on the AH around rspectively 1.80 and 2.10. But as I said I'll leave those handicaps alone here as I'm taking the smaller odds in this case, which could be used in combo's too.

A warning for those type of bets not to center it too much on one pick, as nothing is guaranteed ever of course ...

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take PSV Eindhoven to win at 1.39 at Canbet