AZ Alkmaar will be aiming to return to winning ways in the Eredivisie when they host SBV Excelsior on Sunday.
The visitors have lost five matches in a row, sliding perilously closer to the relegation zone in the process.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having gained impressive back-to-back wins against Fortuna Sittard and potential European qualification rivals Ajax in recent weeks, AZ were left frustrated when dropping two points away to Sparta Rotterdam last weekend.
Yukinari Sugawara's 25th minute strike had looked likely to hand the visitors all three points, but Arno Verschueren equalised with 16 minutes of normal time remaining. In truth, a draw was probably the fairest outcome, with both teams generating plenty of shots at Sparta Stadion.
After finishing fourth last season, that is exactly the position AZ find themselves in once again after 24 games of the season. The club's hierarchy made the decision to sack Pascal Jansen in January, replacing him with his former assistant Maarten Martens. Those aforementioned two victories are Maartens's only wins from seven league games in charge so far, so he has not made the impact that his employers would have been hoping for.
With third-placed FC Twente seven points clear of AZ prior to this weekend's action, AZ appear unlikely to gatecrash the top three positions in the table, so they will be desperate to stay ahead of Ajax and qualify for Europe once again. Maartens and his players will be expecting to dispatch their struggling opponents at AFAS Stadion on Sunday.
© Reuters
Indeed, having narrowly survived relegation in their first season back in the Eredivisie last time out, Excelsior are set for another fight for survival under the management of Marinus Dijkhuizen.
After guiding Excelsior to promotion to the Eredivisie via the playoffs in the 2013-14 campaign, Dijkhuizen returned to the club for a second stint in charge in 2020, before repeating that feat in the 2021-22 season.
The Kralingers finished four points clear of the relegation zone in the end, and despite losing five successive games in recent weeks, they have a three-point cushion this time around. However, 16th-placed RKC Waalwijk and 17th-placed Vitesse both face each other on Saturday evening, meaning that gap will certainly be eaten into by the time Excelsior kick-off in Alkmaar on Sunday.
Dijkhuizen's side have certainly not looked short of scoring goals this season, with Troy Parrott hitting the ground running after joining on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, but their defence must tighten up having shipped 16 goals across their recent five defeats alone.
Team News
© Reuters
AZ will have to replace Jordy Clasie in midfield as their vice-captain is suspended due to reaching the threshold for yellow cards, while Mayckel Lahdo and Denso Kasius are both ruled out through injury.
Lewis Schouten missed out against Sparta Rotterdam due to his own injuries and may not be risked once more, meaning Tiago Dantas could be called upon to start in central midfield.
Backup goalkeepers Hobie Verhulst and Sem Westerveld are both out with knee issues, but former Brighton & Hove Albion stopper Mathew Ryan will continue between the posts.
Excelsior, meanwhile, will travel without Arthur Zagre as the left-back also incurred a suspension due to being booked against Fortuna Sittard last weekend. Given that Ian Smeulers is sidelined by injury, natural centre-back Sven Nieuwpoort may have to play out of position.
Kik Pierie, Serano Seymor, Raphael Eyongo and Lennard Hartjes are all expected to join Smeulers on the sidelines, with Dijkhuizen only able to name eight substitutes for his side's 5-2 defeat at Offermans Joosten Stadion last time out.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Sugawara, Goes, Penetra, Wolfe; Belic, Dantas; Mijnans, De Wit, Van Bommel; Pavlidis
SBV Excelsior possible starting lineup:
Van Gassel; Horemans, Widell, El Yaakoubi, Nieuwpoort; Baas, Sandra; Fernandes, Duijvestijn, Goudmijn; Parrott
We say: AZ Alkmaar 3-1 SBV Excelsior
AZ's form has been indifferent in recent months, but they are still in a commanding position to qualify for Europe once again, meaning they will be determined to return to winning ways.
Excelsior have lost five straight matches and we are predicting a sixth successive defeat for the visitors, even if they have enough attacking quality to make an interesting game of it.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Brett Curtis
