AZ Alkmaar and Quick Boys are set to clash at the AFAS Stadion on Thursday night in the last of the four KNVB Beker quarter-finals, with both sides fiercely battling for a place in the final four.
The hosts secured their spot in the quarter-final by defeating Ajax 2-0 in the previous round, while the visitors dramatically beat SC Heerenveen 3-2 after extra-time.
Match preview
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AZ Alkmaar have experienced a season that has been a tale of three parts so far, with two periods of strong form sandwiched either side of a challenging spell.
The Cheese Farmers remained undefeated in their opening seven matches, recording six wins and one draw, followed by a miserable run of seven games without a victory, suffering six defeats and one draw.
Maarten Martens, in charge since January 2024, has, however, managed to turn AZ's fortunes back around in the past months, losing just three of their last 17 outings across all competitions.
AZ Alkmaar did endure back-to-back defeats at the end of January, sparking concerns of a return to their earlier struggles, but they bounced back with a 2-0 win over Willem II in their most recent outing.
Now aiming to advance into the KNVB Beker semi-finals, a stage they have failed to reach since losing 2-0 to Ajax in 2021-22, AZ will face Tweede Divisie side Quick Boys.
The visitors are enjoying a strong season in the third tier of Dutch football, currently sitting second in the division with 43 points from 20 games, leaving them two points behind the league leaders while also having a game in hand.
Thomas Duivenvoorden's men have been particularly impressive in this competition, already defeating multiple Eredivisie sides on their route to the quarter-finals.
Quick Boys beat Almere City 3-0 in the first round, followed by defeating Fortuna Sittard 3-1 in the round of 32 and SC Heerenveen 3-2 in the last round, with a crucial 88th-minute goal from Milan Zonneveld sending the game to extra-time, where Levi van Duijn scored the winner.
Now aiming to continue their spectacular run in the KNVB Beker, Quick Boys will face their toughest challenge yet, with AZ at least 11 points above their previous challengers in the Eredivisie standings.
Team News
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The hosts are likely to be without the services of Ibrahim Sadiq (unspecified), Ruben van Bommel (leg) and Sem Westerveld (knee) for this match due to injuries, while Troy Parrot is a potential doubt after coming off injured in their last outing.
In that case, 21-year-old Ernest Poku may lead the line for AZ Alkmaar, as the striker still searches for his first goal of the season, having blanked in his 19 appearances this term.
As for the visitors, having already defeated three Eredivisie sides in the earlier rounds of this competition, Duivenvoorden may opt to name a similar starting 11 here.
Van Duijn came off the bench to be the hero with his 109th-minute winning goal in the last round, and the forward may be rewarded with a place in the starting lineup on Thursday.
Jesse Reinders may be unavailable for Quick Boys in midfield, after he was taken off just 13 minutes into their recent loss to GVVV, meaning Leonard de Beste could start.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Owuso-Oduro; Maikuma, Goes, Penetra, Wolfe; Koopmeiners, Clasie; Addai, Mijnans, Lahdo; Poku
Quick Boys possible starting lineup:
Jansen; Bosman, Staal, Nwankwo, Bouwman; De Beste, Broekhuizen, Meerstadt; Van Duijn, Zonneveld, Brouwer
We say: AZ Alkmaar 2-0 Quick Boys
Quick Boys may have shown their quality against Eredivisie sides in the earlier rounds, but AZ are of a higher level than their previous opponents, and with them also boasting the home advantage, we expect the hosts to win here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
