Avoiding a third defeat on the bounce will be the major objective for Vitesse when they play host to AZ Alkmaar at GelreDome on Friday night.

Meanwhile, the away side go in search of back to back wins to breathe some life into what has become a faltering title challenge in recent weeks.

Match preview

AZ Alkmaar just about saw off the threat of SC Cambuur in Saturday's meeting between the sides at the AFAS Stadion which ended in a 2-1 victory.

Pascal Jansen's men broke the deadlock five minutes shy of half time through Vangelis Pavlidis after which Wouter Goes doubled the lead, rendering Bjorn Johnsen's late strike nothing more than a consolation.

Consequently, the Cheeseheads continue to occupy third place in the Eredivisie table, five points adrift of division leaders Feyenoord after 23 rounds of matches.

Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have proven to be a tough nut to crack, with the last nine clashes yielding three wins for either team and three draws.

Ahead of the first leg of their Conference League tie against Lazio four days later, Friday's visitors will be keen to secure a morale-boosting result in this one.

Vitesse came away empty-handed from their encounter against defending champions Ajax following an agonising 2-1 defeat on Sunday afternoon.

Phillip Cocu's men drew first blood right on the half-hour mark through Marco van Ginkel after which strikes from Davy Klaassen and Edson Alvarez turned the game on its head.

With 23 points on the board so far, Geel en Zwart sit 13th in the league standings and are now just five points clear of relegation danger off the back of four points from their last four involvements.

Off the back of a first home loss in 2023 last time out, Friday's hosts will be keen to avoid being beaten in consecutive matches in front of their fans for the first time since August.

Team News

Riechedly Bazoer, Sem Westerveld and Sam Beukema are still sidelined with knee injuries and will not play any part for AZ Alkmaar in Friday's contest.

Dani de Wit also misses out with a leg injury, while 31-year-old Bruno Martins Indi continues his spell out of action due to a long-term hip injury.

Forward Vangelis Pavlidis is one to keep an eye on having netted seven times in his last eight games across all competitions for the away side.

Davy Propper is unavailable for Vitesse as he continues to battle with a knee injury, which will keep him out of a fourth match on the spin.

However, Carlens Arcus could make his return to action in this one after the Haiti international served the last of his two-game suspension against Ajax.

Vitesse possible starting lineup:
Scherpen; Flamingo, Oroz, Isimat-Mirin, Wittek; Meulensteen, Tronstad; Manhoef, Van Ginkel, Kozlowski; Bero

AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Sugawara, Goes, Chatzidiakos, Kerkez; Reijnders, Mijnans, Clasie; Odgaard, Pavlidis, Karlsson

We say: Vitesse 1-2 AZ Alkmaar

With one eye on Tuesday's continental commitment, AZ could opt to field a relatively weaker starting lineup on Friday. Nonetheless, we are backing the away side to come away with all three points, albeit in hard-fought fashion.


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