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AZ Alkmaar
Eredivisie | Gameweek 34
May 16, 2021 at 1.30pm UK
AFAS Stadion, Alkmaar
Heracles Almelo

AZ
5 - 0
Heracles

Boadu (41', 74'), Karlsson (50', 57'), Wijndal (87')
Leeuwin (80'), Bizot (90')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Fadiga (58'), Knoester (76')

Preview: AZ Alkmaar vs. Heracles - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Eredivisie clash between AZ Alkmaar and Heracles, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

With a second-place finish in the Eredivisie still on the cards, AZ Alkmaar play host to Heracles at the AFAS Stadion on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the away side are still in the hunt for a European place and will aim to capitalise on any slip ups with a victory here.


Match preview

AZ Alkmaar's Teun Koopmeiners pictured in February 2020© Reuters

AZ Alkmaar were dealt a blow in their quest to finish as runners-up following a goalless draw against Groningen on Thursday.

Pascal Jansen's men dominated for the majority of the game, but they were reduced to just two efforts on target in the entire 90 minutes.

The Cheeseheads are now three points behind PSV Eindhoven in the race to finish behind Ajax heading into the final gameweek of the campaign.

While a third-place finish is not necessarily a disappointment, it would mean that AZ's 11-year absence from the Champions League continues.

Sunday's hosts have not completed a league double over their visitors since 2018, and they have a chance to end that run after a 2-1 win in November's reverse fixture.

For the second game running, Heracles were involved in a share of the spoils as they played out a 1-1 draw versus Feyenoord on Thursday.

Sinan Bakis converted a penalty four minutes after his side went behind to Orkun Kokcu's opener just past the hour mark.

The Heraclieden are level on points with Sparta Rotterdam as things stand, and they would need results elsewhere to go their way if they are to record a second consecutive eighth-placed finish.

Frank Wormuth's men have lost nine of their last 10 away games at AZ, with their only triumph in that time coming back in 2012.

AZ Alkmaar Eredivisie form:
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • D

Heracles Eredivisie form:
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • D



Team News

AZ Alkmaar players look dejected against Real Sociedad on November 5, 2020© Reuters

AZ's Pantelis Chatzidiakos is expected to sit the game out as he is yet to feature since suffering a knee injury one month ago.

Timo Letschert has been deputising for his Greek teammate in that time, but he is also ruled out of his side's final outing of the season.

Rens van der Wacht still awaits his first appearance of the campaign, and the 21-year-old is still a considerable way off making his comeback from a muscle injury.

Sinan Bakis has scored six goals in his last five outings, although only one of his ten league strikes this term has come away from home.

AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Wijndal, Martins Indi, Clasie, Svensson; Stengs, Koopmeiners, Midtsjo; Karlsson, Boadu, Gudmundsson

Heracles possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Quagliata, Knoester, Propper, Fadiga; Burgzorg, De la Torre, Schoofs, Jakobsen; Bakis, Vloet


SM words green background

We say: AZ Alkmaar 3-1 Heracles

Both sides have all to play for in this one with their respective targets still within touching distance. The onus is more on the home team to show their superiority, and we are tipping them to secure all three points.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a AZ Alkmaar win with a probability of 69.21%. A draw had a probability of 18.1% and a win for Heracles had a probability of 12.71%.

The most likely scoreline for an AZ Alkmaar win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.25%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.91%) and 2-1 (9.69%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.53%), while for a Heracles win it was 0-1 (3.75%). The actual scoreline of 5-0 was predicted with a 2.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that AZ Alkmaar would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: AZ vs Heracles

AZ Alkmaar
82.6%
Draw
13.0%
Heracles
4.3%
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