Winless in four matches across all competitions, AZ Alkmaar will seek to get back on track with all three points in the Eredivisie on Sunday when newly-promoted Telstar visit the AFAS Stadion.

For the visitors, securing consecutive league wins is the target as they prepare to face off against this weekend's opponents for the first time in six years.

Match preview

Fast starts that eventually fade away have been a common theme for AZ in recent seasons, and the current campaign is already showing signs of following a similar trend.

Maarten Martens's men were victorious in eight of their opening 10 games before playing out back-to-back stalemates against Feyenoord and PEC Zwolle three days apart.

De Kaasboeren suffered a first league defeat this term against NEC on Sunday, after which AEK Larnaca comprehensively thrashed them 4-0 in Thursday's Conference League curtain-raiser.

With clean sheets hard to come by of late, AZ have largely relied on their work at the other end of the pitch, but their defeat in Cyprus last time out brought about a rare game without a goal, although the Cheeseheads will point to Alexandre Penetra's second-minute red card as a mitigating factor.

Back in front of their fans, where they have not lost a competitive game since April, Sunday's hosts now set out in search of a much-needed win to avoid falling further behind league leaders Feyenoord with a seven-point deficit to make up already.

Returning to the top flight off the back of a 47-year absence, Telstar have been tipped by many to suffer immediate relegation, and consecutive defeats against Ajax and Zwolle in the first two gameweeks did little to dispel that notion.

Anthony Correia's men finally got their first point of the campaign against fellow newcomers Volendam on August 23, which was followed by their first win and undoubtedly the biggest surprise result so far - a 2-0 triumph away at defending champions PSV Eindhoven.

Back-to-back defeats to Fortuna Sittard and Groningen after the international break zapped out any momentum De Witte Leeuwen may have got from their shock win over PSV. However, they returned to winning ways in grand style by running out 4-2 winners over Go Ahead Eagles on Sunday.

A seven-point tally from 21 available has Telstar just one point outside the relegation zone, but also only three shy of Utrecht in seventh, highlighting how tightly-packed the league standings are at the moment.

Aiming to pull off a giant killing just before an international break once again, Sunday's visitors will need to keep their full focus for 90 minutes, with five of their 13 goals conceded so far coming in the last 15 minutes of games.

AZ Alkmaar Eredivisie form:

AZ Alkmaar form (all competitions):

Telstar Eredivisie form:

Team News

Jordy Clasie is ineligible to feature here after receiving his marching orders against NEC, making him one of two suspension concerns for AZ alongside Mees de Wit, who was shown a fifth yellow card in the same game.

Seiya Maikuma and Troy Parrott are both ruled out with knee injuries as the latter's influence in front of goal continues to be missed, having scored in seven straight games before his time on the sidelines began.

Kees Smit is set to miss a fifth straight game for the home side with a hip injury, and could be joined on the treatment table by Ro-Zangelo Daal, who pulled up less than half an hour into Thursday's loss to AEK.

Danny Bakker and Tyrone Owusu have both missed Telstar's last two matches and are expected to undergo late fitness checks to determine their availability for Sunday's game.

Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp is one to keep an eye on after recently racking up his third direct goal contribution in five matches for his current employers since joining on loan from Almere City.

AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:

Owusu-Oduro; Kasius, Goes, Penetra, Garcia; Koopmeiners, Mijnans, Kwakman; Jensen, Meerdink, Sadiq

Telstar possible starting lineup:

Koeman; Hardeveld, Offerhaus, Ogidi Nwankwo; Noslin, Mertens, Rossen, Van de Kamp; Brouwer, Hetli, Tejan

We say: AZ Alkmaar 2-0 Telstar

Given their recent struggles, AZ Alkmaar are unlikely to head into Sunday's clash with maximum confidence, but the hosts have been imperious on home turf.

Telstar, meanwhile, will be bent on giving a good account of themselves, and we expect them to do so, albeit all to no avail, with AZ claiming a fairly routine win in the end.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Adepoju Marvellous

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