FC Twente will be aiming to build on their impressive 2-1 win over Ajax when they host AZ Alkmaar on Sunday.
The Tukkers became the first Eredivisie side to beat the Amsterdam giants at the Johann Cruyff Arena this season last weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
Queensy Menig was the hero of the hour against his former club in the Dutch capital, as his brace proved vital in earning Twente all three points.
The victory kept them in fifth position, which if they manage to maintain for the rest of the campaign, would be their highest finish since 2014.
It has certainly been a promising start to the season under new manager Ron Jans, as the Tukkers have lost just twice so far in the Eredivisie.
While this includes a 2-0 defeat in their most recent home fixture against Waalwijk, their overall home league record in 2020-21 is only bettered by three other teams.
Their loss to Waalwijk is the only one of their 11 games so far that Twente have failed to score in, with Ajax the only side to net more than them this season.
Jans's side go into Sunday's match looking for their first clean sheet in seven games, and they can take heart from the fact that they won this fixture 2-0 last season – their first victory over AZ in their last 10 attempts.
Their opponents appear to be in a state of chaos after sacking Arne Slot last week, when rumours emerged that he was being lined up to replace Dick Advocaat at Feyenoord next season.
His assistant Pascal Jansen has been placed in charge until the end of the campaign, but has overseen two defeats from two games.
Last weekend, AZ lost in the Eredivisie for the first time this season as they were beaten 2-1 by Groningen.
Teun Koopmeiners gave AZ the lead, but a second half brace from Ahmed El Messaoudi turned the game around, while AZ had both Fredrik Midtsjo and Bruno Martins Indi sent off.
Then on Thursday night, the club dramatically crashed out of the Europa League group stage with defeat to Croatian side HNK Rijeka.
They conceded in the 93rd minute to lose 2-1, when a draw would have been enough to see them qualify for the knockout stage.
Plenty of work to do then for Jansen, with AZ currently eighth in the league table having been in second position when the 2019-20 season was curtailed.
FC Twente Eredivisie form: LWWDLW
FC Twente form (all competitions): LWWDLW
AZ Eredivisie form: DWWWWL
AZ form (all competitions): WDWDLL
Team News
© Reuters
Tyronne Ebuehi was forced off against Ajax last week with a suspected hamstring injury, which means that teenager Mees Hilgers is likely to make his first start for Twente at right-back.
Ron Jans may resist making any other changes from the win in Amsterdam as he aims to build on the result and create some momentum.
Fredrik Midtsjo and Bruno Martins Indi are both suspended for the game following their red cards against Groningen last weekend.
Their replacements are likely to be Albert Gudmundsson in midfield and Timo Letschert in the centre of defence.
On the wing, Zakaria Aboukhlal is pushing for his first league start since the beginning of October.
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Drommel; Hilgers, Pleguezuelo, Pierie, Smal; Brama, Ilic, Roemeratoe; Cerny, Danilo, Menig
AZ possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Sugawara, Hatzidiakos, Letschert, Wijndal; Koopmeiners, Gudmundsson, Witso; Stengs, Boadu, Aboukhlal
We say: FC Twente 2-1 AZ
With AZ seemingly in disarray following their managerial saga, and Twente in a confident mood after their win over Ajax, the home side look to be in a good position to pick up all three points in this game and continue their strong start to the season.
Top betting tip
Olly Allen
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 win with a probability of 48.34%. A win for FC Twente had a probability of 27.88% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.
The most likely scoreline for an AZ win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.48%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.89%) and 0-2 (7.61%). The likeliest FC Twente win was 2-1 (6.9%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.07%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 5.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that AZ would win this match.
