Jurrien Timber knows a thing or two about playing PSV from his time at Ajax, where he took part in the hotly contested rivalry between the two sides.
After flying to the Netherlands and taking a look around Philips Stadion - the venue for tonight’s UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg - our defender sat down to preview the match with the media.
“I think the motivation is there,” he said. “We showed in the group stages that we did really well, we have a good team and this is a beautiful game and a chance to change the narrative to win.
“I don’t see it as negative but we’ve been through a lot, especially the last couple of weeks, but it’s a challenge for us and we have to take it. We have to score tomorrow, we have to win and in the Champions League you only have two games so you don’t get second chances, so we have to go for it in this game.
“We showed in the group stages, also against bigger teams, that we’re defensively really strong. It’s not just the defence, it’s the whole team. We’ve been working on it a lot and we’ll need that because they have a lot of good players upfront and we have to stop them.”
We’re also no strangers to a trip to Eindhoven as a team, having played away to PSV twice in the last two seasons, losing 2-0 in 2022/23 and drawing 1-1 in 2023/24.
“I didn’t need to tell Mikel much because he already played here twice in the last two or three years,” Timber added. “It helps, I don’t need to tell my teammates a lot about the place because they know as well. For me, I played here many times.
“It’s a big challenge. PSV have a lot of quality not only upfront but as a team, the way they play. At home they’re very strong so it’s going to be difficult.”
Timber was also asked about the progress of Ethan Nwaneri, who scored the winning goal of our 2-1 win away to Girona at the end of January.
“Yeah I think it’s amazing to see, amazing to be a part of, yeah I can’t wait [to see] what the future holds for him,” he said.
“Hopefully in this game he can show a little bit of magic, as well.”
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