PSV Eindhoven return to Philips Stadion on Sunday with a different feeling around them after ending their slow start by beating SBV Excelsior 2-1 in Rotterdam. The win gave Peter Bosz's side a first league victory of the 2026-27 season and set up a home meeting with Groningen that now carries more weight than it did a week ago.
That is why Psv Vs Groningen is drawing attention today: PSV are trying to turn four points from six into momentum, and they must do it without some of the players who would normally shape their attack. Jerdy Schouten is definitely out with a serious knee injury, while Filip Kostic, Alassane Plea, Couhaib Driouech and Noah Fernandez will be assessed. Groningen arrive with a cleaner start, having won their first two matches, and Thom van Bergen has already given them a spark with two goals and one assist.
The last trip to Rotterdam also offered a reminder that PSV are still finding their edge. Ricardo Pepi scored to open his account for the season, Ruben van Bommel was back among the goals after missing most of last season with a serious knee issue, and Ivan Perisic set up the league opener against Fortuna Sittard. For Bosz, that is the useful part of Sunday: his side have not been fluent, but they are starting to get contributions from players who can change a game without waiting for the attack to settle completely.
Groningen, though, come with a problem that is hard to ignore. They have lost five straight to PSV, have dropped nine of the last 10 meetings, and their only win in that stretch came in October 2022, when they won 4-2. They are also winless in Eindhoven since March 2014, and they have failed to score in six of their last 11 visits. The numbers do not make Sunday a mystery, but they do make the task clear: Groningen may have started well, yet PSV have been the side that usually turns this fixture into a dead end.
There is another layer to the pressure on PSV. They won the third consecutive Eredivisie title at the end of last season, but the shape of this team has already changed, with Saibari gone to Bayern Munich and Veerman moving to Borussia Dortmund in recent days. Bosz is chasing four straight top-flight titles, and the first test of that pursuit at home is whether PSV can keep moving without two of the midfielders who helped define them. If they do, Sunday will feel less like a recovery and more like the start of a new run.
Groningen are not arriving to survive the occasion, but the history of this match says they will have to be sharp from the opening minutes and brave for long stretches. PSV have already shown they can stumble and recover; the question now is whether they can do it twice in a row and make Philips Stadion feel like a place where the title defence is finally gathering pace.
