Fri Nov 7 12:47:51 2008

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PSV returns to league after thumping in CL

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Nijmegen, Netherlands (Sports Network) - PSV Eindhoven returns to Eredivisie play on Saturday when the club travels to NEC, but it comes on the heels of a deflating 3-0 loss to Marseille in the Champions League that has left Huub Stevens' men to play for third in Group D.

The result leaves PSV at the bottom of the table, behind Marseille on goal difference, while Liverpool and Atletico Madrid have all but locked up spots in the next round.

The Eindhoven club dropped its first two games in the competition, but was filled with a sense of renewed hope after beating Marseille 2-0 on Matchday 3. However, Tuesday's contest was a very frustrating one for Stevens, who felt like his club has only itself to blame.

"We put in a solid first-half display," Stevens told the club's official website. "We were well organized and conceded hardly anything at the back. After the break Marseille caught us a few times on the counter attack.

"When you play a team like Marseille, you know they will create chances. But worse is that we created chances ourselves, which we failed to convert. I think we scored two goals from 10 scoring opportunities over the two games against them, which is not enough. We didn't reward ourselves. We can now only focus on claiming the third place."

Finishing third would get PSV into the UEFA Cup, but they also need to turn their attention back to the league, where they sit in fourth place, one point from the top.

The club has taken only six points from its last four league matches, and with a showdown in Amsterdam against Ajax looming next weekend, PSV would love to take three more points from seventh-place NEC, which has lost just once in six games.

Heracles has dropped three of its last four games and hosts Vitesse, while Saturday's other match features second-from-the-bottom Roda, which has lost its last two games by a combined 6-0 score, traveling to Willem II.

AZ Alkmaar resides at the top of the league on goal difference and hosts top- half team Twente, which is just two points back, Ajax is level with AZ on 19 points and entertains Sparta, Feyenoord picked up only its second win in nine games last week and goes for another victory at home against Utrecht, while last-place Volendam invades Groningen and Heerenveen travels to Den Haag.