AZ Alkmaar will be looking to win consecutive Eredivisie games for the first time since September when they welcome Heracles to the AFAS Stadion on Sunday afternoon in round 14 of the 2024-25 Eredivisie season.
Having lost 11 of their last 12 games at this weekend's venue, the visitors are faced with a huge task of coming away with all three points as they look to snap a two-game winless streak.
Match preview
Off the back of a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Willem II just before the international break, AZ Alkmaar secured a much-needed return to winning ways by getting the better of Sparta Rotterdam in Sunday's meeting at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel.
Maarten Martens's men opened the scoring early on through Peer Koopmeiners but were soon pegged back by Tobias Lauritsen, after which Sven Mijnans grabbed the all-important winner just over 15 minutes from the end of normal time.
Another fast start saw the Cheeseheads break the deadlock in their Europa League clash against Galatasaray on Thursday thanks to Mijnans's second-minute strike, although they did eventually have to settle for a 1-1 draw following Victor Osimhen's equaliser.
With just two wins picked up from their last 11 matches across all competitions, AZ's torrid run of results has left them well off the pace on the domestic and continental fronts as they sit sixth in the Eredivisie table, while their Europa League knockout hopes currently hang in the balance.
In the second of three home matches on the bounce, Sunday's hosts will now set out to get themselves back to winning ways in front of their fans before a mouth-watering clash against Ajax seven days later.
Heracles were involved in a share of the spoils for the first time since mid-September in a 2-2 thrilling stalemate against RKC Waalwijk in Saturday's meeting between the teams at the Asito Stadium.
Erwin van de Looi's men led 1-0 and 2-1 through Luka Kulenovic and Jizz Hornkamp but were pegged back on either occasion by Richard van der Venne and Oskar Zawada to force a share of the spoils in Almelo.
Since their narrow 1-0 triumph over Winterswijk in the KNVB Beker to close out October on a winning note, the Heraclieden have split their three league matches into a win, a draw and a defeat apiece to leave them 13th in the standings with 13 points amassed from as many matches.
Ahead of a tough run of matches that sees them visit AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord either side of a clash against Fortuna Sittard, Heracles will need to get their act together to avoid dropping into the relegation zone before the year runs out.
Having conceded more goals than any other team outside the bottom two, Sunday's visitors have some tightening up to do defensively if they are to turn things around with just over a third of the campaign played already.
Team News
While Bruno Martins Indi has recovered from a muscle problem, Ibrahim Sadiq remains unavailable for AZ through the same concern, as Lewis Schouten also misses out.
Dutch goalkeeper Sem Westerveld remains unavailable for selection on Sunday with a long-term knee injury and is ruled out this one alongside Kristijan Belic.
Twenty-four-year-old Sven Mijnans will be aiming to find the back of the net for a third consecutive game for the home side, highlighting his current importance.
Nikolai Laursen will not play any part for Heracles here as he continues his spell on the sidelines with a knee problem.
Twenty-three-year-old Sava-Arangel Cestic will also miss Sunday's clash through a long-term ankle problem and is joined on the hosts' treatment table by Stijn Bultman.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Zoe; Penetra, Wolfe, Goes, Kasius; Kwakman, Koopmeiners; Meerdink, Mijnans, Smit; Parrott
Heracles possible starting lineup:
De Keijzer; Benita, Mirani, Meski, Roosken; Van der Venne, Roemeratoe, Van de Loo; Margaret, Zawada
We say: AZ Alkmaar 2-1 Heracles
With both teams conceding goals at will of late, we are expecting an entertaining clash between two parties who should fancy their chances of claiming all three points.
Having said that, we can also see AZ fending off their visitors to come out on top at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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