The Europa Conference League playoff round gets underway this week. One of the sides knocked out of the Europa League entering at this stage is PSV, who will be looking for a home advantage boost when they take on Israeli giants Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Europa Conference League Preview
The season got off to a positive start for PSV, but they have quickly found themselves in the Europa Conference League after being knocked out of both the Champions League and Europa League in the first half of the season. Their only chance for a European trophy now comes in this competition.
PSV were in Group B of the Europa League in the first half of the season, but couldn’t get the required points to finish second in the standings. Instead, they could only finish in third-place, which meant dropping down into this competition.
PSG were the highest scorers in Group B, but allowed the second-highest number of goals in the six games that they played. Meanwhile, they won just once at the Phillips Arena, with that success coming against Sturm Graz. They will be hoping for a success on Thursday to give themselves the best chance of qualification through to the knockout round.
Maccabi Tel Aviv played in the Europa Conference League in the first half of the campaign. They lost just once in the six games that they played in Group A, with that only defeat being suffered against LASK. They scored the highest number of goals in Group A, as they averaged 2.33 goals per game.
That attacking threat could be crucial in this tie against PSV given how defensively vulnerable the Dutch side were earlier in the European season. The first leg could go a long way in deciding the side that progresses through to the next round.
PSV vs Maccabi Tel Aviv Head to Head
Incredibly, this will be the first time that these two sides have met in European competition. The second leg of this Europa Conference League tie takes place next Thursday.
PSV vs Maccabi Tel Aviv Prediction
Maccabi have been excellent on the road in their domestic league, but it isn’t every day that they come up against a side of the quality of PSV. Home advantage looks a crucial factor for this first leg, and we could see the Dutch side picking up a 2-0 win to give themselves an excellent chance of progression.
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