AZ Alkmaar vs FC Utrecht - prediction, team news, lineups

Off the back of contrasting results on the continental scene, AZ Alkmaar and FC Utrecht return to domestic duty on Sunday with a meeting at the AFAS Stadion in round 10 of the 2025-26 Eredivisie season.

The hosts are the more in-form of the two sides heading into this weekend's clash, although they are winless in five encounters against their visitors since the start of 2023.

Match preview

Five days after condemning Ajax to their first league defeat of the campaign, AZ Alkmaar followed up their impressive triumph in Amsterdam with a 1-0 win over Slovan Bratislava on Thursday to get their Conference League journey up and running at the second time of asking.

Sven Mijnans grabbed the only goal of the game just before half time, and the 25-year-old should have made things more comfortable for Maarten Martens's men from the spot, but fluffed his lines.

Nonetheless, AZ have now won consecutive matches without conceding for the first time since May and three in a row overall, lifting the mood after a four-game winless run between September 21 and October 2.

Behind Feyenoord and PSV, the Cheeseheads currently sit third in the Eredivisie table heading into their upcoming assignment against an opposing side who have proven to be a tough nut to crack in recent years.

Still, Sunday's hosts will be confident of getting the job done in front of their fans, with no competitive defeats suffered on home turf in almost seven months.

Having scored the opening goal in eight of their last 10 games, another positive start this weekend would put AZ in pole position to come away with maximum points.

Fresh from ending a run of six games without a win by beating Volendam 3-1 on Saturday, Utrecht made the trip to Germany for Thursday's Europa League clash against Freiburg on a high but were sent crashing back down to earth following a 2-0 defeat.

Ron Jans's men paid the price for a shaky defensive unit once again as first-half goals from Yuito Suzuki and Vincenzo Grifo saw them concede for an eighth consecutive match since keeping back-to-back clean sheets at the end of August.

During that run, De Domstedelingen have let in the first goal on all but one occasion, while also failing to score in five of the matches, highlighting their struggles at both ends of the pitch.

Currently on a run of four consecutive away defeats, Utrecht have not fared well on the road lately, ahead of their upcoming trip to Alkmaar, where they are, however, unbeaten since 2021.

With games against NEC, Porto and Ajax on the horizon, Sunday's visitors will need to pick up the pace to navigate what is set to be a daunting run of matches before the November international break.

AZ Alkmaar Eredivisie form:

AZ Alkmaar form (all competitions):

FC Utrecht Eredivisie form:

FC Utrecht form (all competitions):

Team News

Jordy Clasie has missed each of AZ's last three matches due to injury and is unavailable for Sunday's game as well.

Seiya Maikuma is also ruled out for the home side with a long-term knee problem, while Mexx Meerdink is set to sit out a third consecutive game.

After a fine start to the season that saw him score eight times in nine matches across all competitions, Victor Jensen continues to be a big miss for Utrecht as he is currently out with a muscle injury.

Twenty-six-year-old Niklas Vesterlund is the visitors' only other guaranteed absentee for Sunday's game due to a knee injury he picked up against Feyenoord earlier this month.

AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:

Owusu-Oduro; De Wit, Penetra, Goes, Kasius; Mijnans, Smit, Koopmeiners; Jensen, Parrott, Patati

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Barkas; Horemans, Van der Hoorn, Viergever, El Karouani; Zechiel, Engwanda; Jonathans, Min, Blake; Haller