AZ Alkmaar will continue their hunt for a top-three finish in the Eredivisie when they face off against Emmen at the AFAS Stadion on Sunday evening.

For the away side, pulling further clear of relegation danger will be the major target as they currently sit outside the drop zone by the skin of their teeth.

Match preview

AZ Alkmaar suffered a first-leg defeat in their Conference League semi-final tie against West Ham, which ended 2-1 at the London Stadium on Thursday.

Pascal Jansen's men went into the interval with a slender lead courtesy of Tijjani Reijnders's long-range strike before second-half strikes from Said Benrahma and Michail Antonio turned the game on its head.

Prior to that, the Cheeseheads played out a goalless draw against Ajax and remain fourth in the Eredivisie table, three points adrift of the automatic Europa League spot.

Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have been beaten in all of the previous eight editions of this fixture across all competitions.

With the second leg of their European clash to follow four days later, Sunday's hosts will aim to secure a morale-boosting victory ahead of what is arguably their biggest match of the season.

Emmen fell to their heaviest defeat since the turn of the year following a comprehensive 3-0 loss against FC Twente at De Oude Meerdijk on Sunday.

Dick Lukkien's men put on a solid performance in the opening 45 minutes but conceded two goals to Michel Vlap either side of Vaclav Cerny's effort in the second period.

Currently boasting 28 points from their 31 league outings so far, the Kannibals sit 15th in the standings, outside the bottom three only by the virtue of their superior goal difference over Excelsior.

Having let in 34 goals in 15 matches on the road this term, Sunday's visitors will need to be wary of being on the receiving end of another thrashing away from home.

Team News

Sem Westerveld remains ruled out for AZ Alkmaar through a knee injury, while Jesper Karlsson has missed the last five games with a muscle problem.

Dani de Wit is also unavailable for the hosts due to a leg injury, and the midfielder is joined on the sidelines by Bruno Martins Indi, who is battling with a hip injury.

Milos Kerkez should return to the starting XI for this one after missing his side's European clash in midweek through a one-game suspension.

Jeff Hardeveld, Mart Lieder and Maikel Kieftenbeld are unfit to feature for Emmen through knee injuries as Rui-Jorge Mendes continues to nurse a muscle problem.

Twenty-four-year-old Metehan Guclu also misses out for the away side through an injury which has kept him out of action since the first week of November.

AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Kerkez, Chatzidiakos, Beukema, Sugawara; Reijnders, Clasie; Odgaard, Mijnans, Van Brederode; Pavlidis

Emmen possible starting lineup:
Van der Hart; Burnet, Veldmate, Araujo, Te Wierik; Veendorp, El Messaoudi; Romeny, Diemers, Antonisse; Zivkovic

We say: AZ Alkmaar 2-0 Emmen

With one eye on their continental commitment, AZ could elect to rest several key players for this weekend's contest, but they should still have enough about themselves to secure all three points in a relatively comfortable manner.


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