Zahavi played his last game at Fortuna Sittard on November 7. He then dropped out with a knee injury. There has been a lot of talk about the striker in recent weeks. He considered leaving PSV after two home burglaries that his family had a lot of trouble with. After the mediation of trainer Roger Schmidt, he came back to that intention.
PSV is tight on strikers. Maxi Romero was the surprising attack leader against FC Groningen. Carlos Vinicius, Zahavi’s first replacement, is dealing with a minor injury, according to Schmidt. He will also keep him aside against Ajax on Sunday.
infirmary
Of the list of absentees, only Zahavi returns for the topper. Noni Madueke, André Ramalho and Ryan Thomas are in the infirmary. Ibrahim Sangaré is still busy at the Africa Cup. When asked whether PSV plays against Telstar with the regular basic team, Schmidt said: „We do not have that. Partly due to the circumstances, we regularly have to miss out on composition.”
PSV also does not have players who mainly play in the cup. For example, Yvon Mvogo has not been designated as a special goalkeeper for the cup matches. “If you designate players for that, you’re stuck with it,” said Schmidt, who probably just leaves Drommel under the bar. “We only played one game after the winter. There is no reason to give him rest.”