PSV Eindhoven scouted: How can Rangers overcome Ruud van Nistelrooy's side?

Giovanni van Bronckhorst will lock horns with his former Netherlands teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy on the touchline, with the ex-Manchester United forward taking his first steps in senior management this season after cutting his teeth in the youth ranks at PSV.

Although both managers are products of the esteemed Dutch coaching line, there are subtle differences in their managerial ideologies that should make for an intriguing tactical battle across both legs.

PSV in possession

Van Nistelrooy was consistent in his use of a 4-3-3 across both legs in the previous qualifying round against Monaco and the Dutchman is unlikely to waver from that formation for the trip to Glasgow.

PSV retain the option of moving to a more attack-minded 4-2-3-1 which van Nistelrooy has tended to look towards in domestic fixtures, although the profile of the player on the right for the Dutch outfit could be telling. Ismael Saibari started both matches against Monaco, with the 21-year-old more in the mould of a No.10 who offers defensive workrate and an ability to combine infield with his teammates, while Johan Bakayoko is a dynamic winger who looks to cut inside on his stronger left foot to pose danger.

The Eredivise side build with their central defenders split wide and the No.6, likely to be the highly-rated Ibrahim Sangare, resisting the temptation to drop into the backline and instead operating as a single pivot in midfield. To compensate, PSV tend to invert the right full-back to form a three-man defensive line, while the left-back pushes higher.

It means PSV tend to attack with an asymmetrical shape, which could benefit Borna Barisic in defensive situations as he shouldn't be overloaded by a cluster of opposition bodies on the flanks.

The midfield configuration of van Nistelrooy’s side often sees Joey Veerman, once the apple of Steven Gerrard’s eye while he impressed for Herenveen, operate in a hybrid role. The 23-year-old will often vacate his central position to create wide overloads in the second phase of build-up, creating the space for PSV to play into Sangare before exploiting the opposite flank.

Equally, Veerman possesses qualities in advanced positions as he displayed by netting in both legs against Monaco.

Guus Til rounds off PSV’s midfield, with the former Spartak Moscow midfielder most similar to Scott Arfield in the Rangers squad. The 24-year-old will operate as the most advanced midfielder, comfortable in the right half-space and making penetrative runs inside opposing full-backs.

Luuk de Jong, meanwhile, provides an effective focal point. The former Sevilla man tends to drop off the forward line to offer a passing option, allowing PSV to create central overloads between the lines. As illustrated by the proximity of de Jong (the No.9) to Sangare (the No.6) in the side’s pass map from their second leg victory over Monaco, PSV aim to create quick combinations between the midfield and forward line.

By dropping off the front line, de Jong often creates gaps in opposing backlines for the dangerous Cody Gakpo to exploit from his position on the left. The 23-year-old may be six-foot-one in stature, but he boasts excellent close control and he is capable of dominating his marker physically in one-on-one situations.

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When PSV reach the final third, the full-backs play a supporting role – as opposed to overlapping – to maximise the space for the wide players. Jordan Teze was the architect of de Jong’s headed winner against Monaco to send PSV to the play-off round, delivering a cross towards the back post after Bakayoko had attracted two opposition defenders.

PSV out of possession

Without the ball, PSV settle into a 4-4-2 mid-block and only press high when the situation develops favourably.

They adopt a position-orientated zonal marking approach, looking to close off the centre of the pitch and force play into the wide areas. From there, they move across the pitch horizontally to trap teams against the touchline and stifle progression of the ball, as illustrated below.

Players are only instructed to press when the ball enters their zone where, for example, the right midfielder can often press onto the spare man in the opposition’s backline when the first line of pressure from PSV press onto the central defenders, forcing play back to the goalkeeper and allowing van Nistelrooy’s men to squeeze up.

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When PSV are able to force play back to the opposition’s No.1, they often switch to a more man-orientated defensive approach to actively pursue winning the ball in an advanced area close to the goal.

In many ways, Ridvan Yilmaz’s capacity to operate tight to the touchline would be hugely beneficial for van Bronckhorst, but the Turkish international is still finding his feet after arriving from Besiktas. There is a risk that PSV could successfully target Barisic as the pressing trigger.

Van Bronckhorst could mitigate this by deploying a double-pivot in midfield, allowing the midfielder next to John Lundstram to drop into the full-back area and allow Barisic to go high. This would minimise the width in the first phase of build-up for PSV to target.

Beware of the set-pieces

As Monaco discovered to their detriment, creative set-pieces are key to van Nistelrooy’s approach. Indeed, it was from a dead ball situation where PSV forced extra time against the Ligue 1 outfit last week, underlining the dynamic-shifting role that they can play in a game of such high stakes.

The Dutch side caught Monaco napping, with van Nistelrooy making a change before the free-kick is delivered into the penalty area.

Before Marco van Ginkel has even reached the penalty box, PSV slide a pass down the right to Bakayoko.

Monaco’s defensive block collapses into the danger area, where Bakayoko shifts the ball onto his left foot before delivering to the far post.

In doing so, PSV have created an overload at the back of the pack, allowing de Jong to nod across goal for Erick Gutierrez to equalise.

Van Nistelrooy’s men also profited domestically this season in their home victory over Emmen. PSV positioned two men over the free-kick with Gakpo holding the ball.

The winger quickly places the ball on the ground before the taker is switched, delivering an in-to-out delivery that causes carnage in the penalty box before being knocked in for an own goal.

However, PSV live by the sword and die by the sword in their relationship with set-pieces. While they post a significant threat in attacking set plays, they are also vulnerable to conceding from dead-ball scenarios.

Monaco created 0.66xG in the first leg of their tie with the Eredivisie outfit from set-pieces alone, equalising on the night after fooling PSV into dropping their defensive line before delivering into the space around the penalty spot.

It is an area that van Bronckhorst will be sure to maximise as Rangers aim to take a positive first-leg advantage to the Netherlands.

PSV boast terrific quality throughout the spine of their side, but there are areas for the Gers to exploit both from open play and dead-ball situations. Van Bronckhorst will be hoping his charges play with tactical clarity as they aim to repeat their Ibrox heroics from last season.