Rosenborg BK vs PSV Eindhoven 02/10/20

2 October 2020

Rosenborg BK and PSV Eindhoven go head-to-head at the Lerkendal Stadion in their one-legged UEFA Europa League play-off tie. The two sides last met in the 2019/20 Europa League group stage, with PSV running out 4-1 winners at this venue following a 1-1 draw in Eindhoven.

In turn, the hosts have lost three of their four overall European clashes against PSV (D1), with all but one of those encounters featuring a full-time margin of under 1.5 goals. Going back to 2011/12, the ‘Troillongan’ have successfully negotiated four of their six Europa League play-off ties (W4, L2), including a 4-2 aggregate victory over PSV’s fellow Eredivisie rivals Ajax back in 2017/18 (1-0 A, 3-2 H). Rosenborg’s overall European record against Dutch opponents stands at W3, D4, L5, with 66.67% (eight) of those 12 matches featuring under 2.5 goals. This season alone, Åge Hareide’s men have joined the competition in the first qualifying round, easing past Breidablik 4-2 before sweeping aside Ventspils 5-1 in the second qualifying round. The Norwegian heavyweights have earned their play-off berth thanks to a narrow 1-0 victory over Turkish side Alanyaspor last time out.

As for the visitors, they have started their European adventure in the third qualifying round, hammering Slovenian side Mura 5-1 away from home. Going back to 2009/10, the ‘Farmers’ have been relentless in their efforts to reach the Europa League through the play-off, winning all six of their such ties since. Remarkably, the Dutch giants have managed to keep a clean sheet in 11 of 12 such contests, with seven of their wins yielding at least a two-goal margin. Curiously, none of PSV’s previous five Europa League trips have ended in a draw (W4, L1), play-off included, with each of those results (wins/loss) seeing the winner on the day score over 3.5 goals and concede one or less.