AZ Alkmaar will welcome PEC Zwolle to the AFAS Stadion on Sunday for a game of importance at both ends of the Eredivisie table.
The hosts currently sit five points outside of the division's top three, while their visitors have built a crucial lead over the relegation zone in recent weeks.
Match preview
AZ Alkmaar return to the AFAS Stadion on Sunday aiming to narrow their gap to the Eredivisie's Champions League places, having arrested a brief dip in form last time out.
After ending a rut with five straight league victories to finish 2024, De Kaasboeren sat on 32 points from 17 outings at the turn of the year, but they failed to carry on that momentum in January, beginning with a 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven and a goalless stalemate against Utrecht.
Sparta Rotterdam then visited the AFAS Stadion and took all three points in a 2-1 victory, before Maarten Martens's side finished their Europa League league-phase campaign with a 4-3 defeat away at Ferencvaros.
Aiming to bounce back and return to the Champions League hunt, De Kaasboeren visited Willem II last weekend and made a return to winning ways, as Troy Parrott and Sven Mijnans netted first-half goals in a 2-0 triumph.
Now on the back of a midweek 3-1 victory over Quick Boys to book a KNVB Cup semi-final spot, AZ Alkmaar find themselves fourth in the Eredivisie, five points behind third-placed Utrecht and just one and two ahead of Feyenoord and FC Twente respectively, and they will be desperate to put a winning run together to strengthen their standing at the top end of the table.
Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip at the weekend aiming to continue their climb away from the relegation zone, having given their survival hopes a major boost in recent weeks.
Following a 12th-placed finish in their first season back in the Eredivisie last time around, PEC Zwolle endured a tough first half to the new campaign, as a four-match winless run around the turn of the year left them on just 17 points from 18 outings.
The Blauwvingers scored just 16 goals in those games, but they have since hit the net 10 more times and added seven points to their tally in just three further attempts, firstly picking up a surprise fifth league win of the season by beating defending champions and leaders PSV Eindhoven 3-1 thanks to Filip Krastev's brace and a Dylan Vente goal.
Vente then hit a brace alongside goals from Krastev and Davy van den Berg in a 4-1 beating of Fortuna Sittard, before they most recently hosted Utrecht and shared the points in a 3-3 draw as Vente hit another double and Van den Berg got on the scoresheet again before Nick Viergever pegged them back seven minutes from time.
Having now climbed to 12th spot thanks to their recent improvement, leading the relegation playoff place by four points and the automatic drop zone by 10, PEC Zwolle will aim to keep building momentum and further continue their climb away from the bottom three and towards the top half.
Team News
AZ Alkmaar fielded a strong side for their midweek cup tie against Quick Boys, and despite the quick turnaround we should see a similar starting XI on Sunday, with Ruben van Bommel and Ibrahim Sadiq set to remain sidelined by injuries.
Star man Troy Parrott will continue to lead the line, having netted his 15th goal of the season in that cup win following a summer switch from Tottenham Hotspur, with 11 of his goals coming from 21 Eredivisie games.
Wouter Goes returned from a suspension on Thursday and will continue in defence, while Peer Koopmeiners and Jordy Clasie will again partner up in the engine room of their 4-2-3-1 setup with Sven Mijnans offering further attacking support from the centre of a supporting trio.
PEC Zwolle should field the same starting XI for the third straight game on Sunday given their fine form, in a 4-2-3-1 shape similar to that of their hosts.
Hibernian loanee Dylan Vente leads the line in fine form, having netted five goals in their last three games to move onto nine for the season in the Eredivisie, while winger Filip Krastev has contributed three goals and three assists in the same timeframe.
Indeed, Krastev will join Jamiro Monteiro and Dylan Mbayo in support of the lone front man, while key men Davy van den Berg and Anouar El Azzouzi will continue their partnership in front of the back four.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Owusu-Oduro; Kasius, Goes, Martins Indi, Wolfe; Clasie, Koopmeiners; Addai, Mijnans, Lahdo; Parrott
PEC Zwolle possible starting lineup:
Hauptmeijer; Aertssen, Graves Jensen, MacNulty, Van Der Haar; El Azzouzi, Van Den Berg; Krastev, Monteiro, Mbayo; Vente
We say: AZ Alkmaar 2-1 PEC Zwolle
PEC Zwolle's rejuvenation, particularly in attack, could certainly see them cause problems for AZ Alkmaar on Sunday, but we back the hosts to make their superior quality count and take all three points from a tough test.
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