In one of two high-profile matches round 11 of the 2024-25 Eredivisie season has to offer, Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar will do battle at De Kuip on Saturday evening.
The home side are on a run of five straight victories across all competitions against this weekend's visitors, who last came out top in this fixture back in February 2022.
Match preview
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Feyenoord saw their recent resurgence hit a bump in the road last time out as they fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Ajax in Wednesday's heavyweight encounter between the teams.
A slow start to the contest was punished by goals from Kenneth Taylor and Jorrel Hato inside the opening 25 minutes, and Brian Priske's men never quite managed to get themselves back into the game.
That snapped a five-game winning streak for De Stadionclub, who were beginning to hit the heights from last season after a slow start to the current campaign, which yielded just one win from the opening four league involvements.
Feyenoord's defeat to Ajax saw them fail to find the back of the net in league action for the first time since a goalless stalemate against Volendam in April, and they will be keen to get themselves back on the scoresheet.
Finishing seven points shy of PSV Eindhoven last season, Saturday's hosts were the holders' biggest challengers for Eredivisie glory, but a title charge this term looks unlikely as the Rotterdam-based outfit currently trail the defending champions by a whopping 11 points.
Fresh off the back of a first home league defeat of 2024, Feyenoord will now set out to get themselves back to winning ways in front of their fans, where they have been largely underwhelming in recent matches.
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AZ Alkmaar blew a glorious opportunity to snap a dismal five-game losing streak with all three points in their 2-2 stalemate against Go Ahead Eagles in Sunday's absorbing affair between the teams at the AFAS Stadion.
Goals in either half from Troy Parrott and Denso Kasius put Maarten Martens's men in the driving seat before Victor Edvardsen restored parity five minutes from time after Gerrit Nauber had halved the deficit earlier on.
The sound of the final whistle last time out was met with a lot of animosity from the AZ faithful, who have not seen their side come out on top in a football game since a 3-2 triumph over Elfsborg just over a month ago.
Off the back of a blistering start to the season, AZ's recent struggles have landed them in sixth place in the Eredivisie table, although a victory this weekend would see them leapfrog their opponents in the standings.
Sitting 24th out of 36 teams in the Europa League, the Cheeseheads are in need of a pick-me-up on the domestic and continental fronts, so a big performance is needed on Saturday ahead of their next European clash against Fenerbahce on Thursday.
Team News
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Dutch duo Calvin Stengs and Quilindschy Hartman are both unavailable for Feyenoord through knee injuries, but the former is drawing increasingly closer to his comeback.
Jordan Lotomba and Gjivai Zechiel are unavailable through muscle and ankle injuries respectively, while Santiago Gimenez is yet to fully recuperate from a hip problem.
Japanese international Ayase Ueda was hauled off after just 40 minutes in his side's defeat to Ajax last time out, making him a huge doubt to play any part here.
Bruno Martins Indi and Lewis Schouten are unavailable for AZ Alkmaar this weekend through muscle injuries as compatriot Wouter Goes continues to nurse a foot problem.
Sem Westerveld is still out of contention with a torn meniscus he suffered back in May, but David Moller Wolfe is eligible to feature once again having served his one-game suspension.
Since coming off with an injury against Tottenham Hotspur last week, Ruben van Bommel has been diagnosed with a foot injury and is a guaranteed absentee here.
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Wellenreuther; Bueno, Hancko, Trauner, Read; Milambo, Hwang, Timber; Osman, Carranza, Paixao
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Owusu-Oduro; Wolfe, Dekker, Penetra, Maikuma; Clasie, Belic; Poku, Mijnans, Kasius; Parrott
We say: Feyenoord 2-1 AZ Alkmaar
Tipped as major contenders to PSV's quest for consecutive league titles, both Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar have not lived up to expectations this season, but a victory in this weekend's meeting could serve as a turning point.
We expect an open and end-to-end affair with the hosts just about edging their visitors in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
