AZ Alkmaar host a relegation-threatened ADO Den Haag on Saturday, hoping to make it two wins in a row on the back of Wednesday's impressive 3-1 away win at PSV Eindhoven, which brought them within three points of their opponents on the day.
On the other hand, Den Haag will want to bounce back from a 4-1 home demolition by VVV Venlo courtesy of four goals by Giorgos Giakoumakis, which left them 16th in the Eredivisie table.
Match preview
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AZ currently possess the longest active unbeaten streak in the league, having not tasted defeat in six matches, since losing 2-1 to Groningen last December.
In that time, they have picked up 14 of the next 18 points, and have moved up from seventh to fourth in the Eredivisie table.
However, too many draws over the course of the season have hampered the Cheeseheads' title chances to a significant extent.
Nonetheless, Pascal Jansen's men trail league leaders Ajax by just four points, albeit having played an extra game.
Den Haag have won only one of their last 12 league games dating back to last October, which was a narrow 1-0 victory at RKC Waalwijk last Saturday.
Ruud Brood's men are off the bottom of the table by a single point, and they are in serious danger of a return to the Eerste Divisie for the first time in 13 years.
Inefficiency on both ends of the field has been the summary of their season so far as they currently have not only the second-worst attacking record in the league behind RKC Waalwijk, but also the third-worst defensive record behind Emmen and VVV-Venlo.
Things have to improve on either end if not both or else, relegation becomes inevitable for De Ooievaars.
AZ Alkmaar Eredivisie form: WWWDDW
ADO Den Haag Eredivisie form: DDLLWL
Team News
Dani De Wit sustained an ankle injury in his side's last league loss against Groningen last December, and the Dutch midfielder is still unavailable for the home team.
Yukinari Sugawara will continue at right-back, having deputised well for the injured Jonas Svensson.
ADO Den Haag will have to deal with the continued absence of Peet Bijen, who pulled up 15 minutes into his side's KNVB-Beker triumph over Sparta Rotterdam.
Nineteen-year-old Vicente Besuijen could be rested for this one, having featured in all but three of his side's 16 league games so far.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Wijndal, Martins Indi, Hatzidiakos, Sugawara; Koopmeiners, Midtsjo, Stengs; Karlsson, Boadu, Gudmundsson
ADO Den Haag possible starting lineup:
Koopmans; Kempers, Pinas, Janmaat, Van Ewijk; Castillo, Goossens, Vejinovic; Kishma, Kramer, Ould-Chikh
We say: AZ Alkmaar 3-0 ADO Den Haag
AZ have been devastating in front of goal all season long, and you would fancy that to continue, given that they are going up against a side with a defensive record as poor as Den Haag's.
Top betting tip
Adepoju Marvellous
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 79.51%. A draw had a probability of 13% and a win for ADO Den Haag had a probability of 7.5%.
The most likely scoreline for an AZ Alkmaar win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.05%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (10.34%) and 2-1 (8.48%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.04%), while for an ADO Den Haag win it was 1-2 (2.32%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that AZ Alkmaar would win this match.
