AZ Alkmaar will be looking to bounce back to winning ways in the Eredivisie when they face off against a struggling FC Volendam at AFAS Stadion on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts slipped to fourth place in the league standings with 26 points in 11 matches before the international break, while the visitors are in the relegation zone with just eight points in 12 games.
Match preview
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After a blistering start to the league campaign, which included five consecutive wins in their first five matches, AZ Alkmaar began showing signs of weakness and would have been thankful for the international break, which would have given them a chance to recharge their batteries.
The Cheese Farmers lost their last league match 1-0 to defending champions Feyenoord, which followed a disappointing 1-1 draw to Excelsior and resulted in them shedding two places in the league standings, now in fourth spot.
Unfortunately, those were not the only disappointing results they endured as they also lost back-to-back Europa League matches against Aston Villa, which sees them head into this fixture winless in their last four in all competitions.
However, following three away games, Pascal Jansen's side will be looking forward to returning to their home patch, where they are unbeaten in league matches this season with a record of four wins and a draw in five games.
While the last match between these sides ended in a 1-1 draw, AZ have dominated this fixture in the past and have not lost a single game against Volendam in nine previous meetings, which includes seven wins and two draws, dating all the way back 1996.
Meanwhile, after avoiding relegation in their first season back in the top flight last term, FC Volendam look as though they are set to battle at the bottom of the table again in the current campaign.
The Other Oranje have eeked out just eight points so far this season and are level with bottom club Vitesse on eight points after losing their last league match 4-1 to Sparta Rotterdam a couple of weeks ago.
Unlike most sides in the top flight, Volendam played a cup match last week and were sent packing from the KNVB Cup by lower league outfit Excelsior Maassluis, who claimed a famous 1-0 victory on their home patch.
With those results, Wim Jonk's side are now winless in their last four matches in all competitions and have not won a single away match this season, currently with a record of seven losses and a draw in eight outings.
Team News
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Sam Westerveld has not featured at all this season as he continues to recover from a knee injury, which should see Matthew Ryan continue between the sticks for the hosts for the foreseeable future.
Mees de Wit is the only other doubt owing to a foot injury, while Vangelis Pavlidis will lead the line and will also be hoping to add to his tally of 13 goals this season, which could give him the outright lead in the race for the Golden Boot.
Volendam, on the other hand, have several doubtful players for this match and will definitely be without the services of Koen Blommestijn, Luke Le Roux, and Robin Maulun due to injuries.
Brian Plat, Joey Antonioli and Xavier Mbuyamba have all missed six matches this season, and none have been assigned a return date as yet, which suggests that they are likely to be sidelined for this one as well.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Sugawara, Bazoer, Martins Indi, Wolfe; Mijnans, Clasie; Van Bommel, De Wit, Sadiq; Pavlidis
FC Volendam possible starting lineup:
Backhaus; Buur, Benamar, Flint, Cox; Mirani, Twigt; Ould-Chikh, De Haan, Johnson; Muhren
We say: AZ Alkmaar 3-1 FC Volendam
After a disappointing run of results leading up to the international break, AZ Alkmaar will know the importance of claiming all three points here as they aim to stay on the shoulders of the sides at the top of the table. The hosts have an excellent record in this fixture, and we feel that they will get the job done fairly comfortably in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
