PSV’s Bosz expecting stern Shakhtar test amid De Jong, Lang concerns

PSV coach Peter Bosz expects a difficult test on Wednesday when team hosts Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, when they could be without Luuk de Jong and Noah Lang.

Captain De Jong and Dutch international Lang both missed Saturday's 5-0 Eredivisie win over Groningen, although former Barcelona striker De Jong returned to training on Monday.

Both players are considered doubtful for their upcoming clash with Ukrainian champions Shakhtar as PSV look to improve their record of five points from four league games.

They are one point above Shakhtar, who are just outside the play-off places in 28th. While the Opta supercomputer gives PSV an 80% chance of a place in the top 24, Shakhtar's expectations are only 11%.

“We have to win at home, but that doesn't just happen. You don't just get the points,” said Bosz.

“They have very good football players in the team and, for example, they lost very unluckily and narrowly at Arsenal.

“It is a team that wants to play football and build up, with a goalkeeper (Dmytro Riznyk) who plays along. They want to play with short combinations from the back.

“They dared to do that in London, with a rather daring build-up. They also pushed Arsenal back at times, which was impressive. They have players with individual qualities up front. We will have to work hard.”

After hosting Shakhtar, PSV will travel to surprise package Brest on matchday six and will complete the group stage against Red Star Belgrade and Liverpool in the new year.

A run of winnable games before taking on Arne Slot's Reds has boosted rumors of PSV reaching the play-offs, but Bosz was not interested in making predictions.

“I'm not really calculating, I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible,” he said. “When you look at the points you see how close it is and therefore how important tomorrow's match is.

“We don't know yet how many points we will need. We will see later.”