AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven return to action on Saturday when they go head to head at the AFAS Stadion in round nine of the Eredivisie.
Both sides picked up contrasting results just before the international break, with the home side losing away to Fortuna Sittard while the Rood-witten fought back from behind to secure a comeback victory over Sparta Rotterdam.
Match preview
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AZ Alkmaar failed to stop the rot last time out as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Fortuna Sittard when the two sides squared off at the Offermans Joosten Stadion two Saturdays ago.
Alen Halilovic failed to convert from the spot in the 45th minute as both sides went into the break level, but defender Rodrigo Guth came up clutch for Fortuna as he broke the deadlock with a 78th-minute header to hand them all three points.
AZ Alkmaar have now lost three games on the bounce, suffering league defeats against Utrecht and Fortuna Sittard on either side of a 2-0 loss against Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League on October 3.
Preceding this run, Maarten Martens's men were unbeaten in 19 straight matches across all competitions, picking up 15 wins and four draws since losing back-to-back games against Heracles and PSV Eindhoven back in April.
Despite their slump in form, De Kaasboeren currently sit third in the Eredivisie standings with 19 points from their opening eight games and could move level on points with second-placed Utrecht with a win this weekend.
However, next up for AZ Alkmaar is the stern challenge of taking on an opposing side who have won 14 of the last 20 meetings between the teams across all competitions, including three straight victories in their last three encounters since May 2023.
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PSV Eindhoven, on the other hand, had to dig deep in their final outing before the international break as they fought back from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Sparta Rotterdam.
The Rood-witten found themselves trailing after Tobias Lauritsen struck in the 10th minute to put Rotterdam in front, but an own goal from Arno Verschueren and Luuk de Jong's 37th-minute strike turned the game on its head before they held on in the second half to see out the win.
Prior to that, PSV secured their first point in the 2024-25 Champions League campaign on October 1, when they played out a 1-1 draw by Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon at the Philips Stadion.
With the result against Sparta Rotterdam, Peter Bosz's men have now won each of their eight Eredivisie games this term to hold a five-point lead at the top of the table, and are unbeaten in 15 straight games in the league, claiming 14 wins and one draw since March's 3-1 loss to NEC Nijmegen.
PSV Eindhoven's blistering start to their Eredivisie title defence has been owing to their ruthless display in front of goal, where they have netted 27 goals already, 10 more than any other side in the division, while keeping three clean sheets and conceding five at the opposite end of the pitch.
Team News
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AZ remain without 20-year-old defender Wouter Goes, who has missed each of the last five games since sustaining an injury following the Europa League game against Elfsborg on September 25.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Jordy Clasie and 22-year-old goalkeeper Wouter Goes, who are currently recuperating from hamstring and knee problems respectively.
Meanwhile, PSV will have to cope without the services of Belgian defender Matteo Dams, who is suspended after picking up a straight red card against Sparta Rotterdam last time out.
On the injury front, the Rood-witten remain without several players down the spine of the team as Joey Veerman (groin), Hirving Lozano (muscle) and Fode Fofana (knee) continue their spells on the sidelines.
Dutch midfielder Jerdy Schouten missed the game against Sparta Rotterdam and is an injury doubt for this weekend while former Barcelona man Sergino Dest continues his long road to full fitness after picking up a knee injury back in April.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Owusu-Oduro; Kasius, Penetra, Dekker, Wolfe; Buurmeester, Koopmeiners; Sadiq, Mijnans, Van Bommel; Parrott
PSV Eindhoven possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Junior, Flamingo, Boscagli, Karsdorp; Ledezma, Til, Saibari; Perisic, De Jong, Tillman
We say: AZ Alkmaar 1-3 PSV Eindhoven
After a blistering start to the campaign, AZ Alkmaar have suffered a drop-off in form in recent weeks and now face the stern challenge of taking on a high-flying PSV side who boast a 100% record in the league.
While we expect AZ to pose a stern challenge in front of their home supporters, we are backing Bosz's men to continue from where they left off before the international break and make it nine wins from nine.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
