AZ Alkmaar will be aiming to close the six-point gap to third-placed Feyenoord when they welcome them to the AFAS Stadion on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Arne Slot will be hoping that he can get one over his former side as he looks to guide Feyenoord to a fifth consecutive victory.
Match preview
© Reuters
Currently sat in fourth position, AZ Alkmaar could cut the six-point deficit to Feyenoord in half with a victory on Sunday.
The Cheeseheads enter Sunday's contest in impressive form, as they look to extend their current unbeaten run to 18 games in all competitions, while a win at the weekend would see them claim a fifth consecutive victory across league and cup competitions.
Last weekend, Pascal Jansen's side played host to Heracles, and it was the home side who grabbed the opener thanks to Tijjani Reijnders's powerful strike before Nikolai Laursen equalised for the visitors before half time.
The hosts would still take the spoils though, with Vangelis Pavlidis tapping home from close range just three minutes after the restart to guide his side to a 2-1 victory.
PSV Eindhoven are the only away team to have emerged victorious from the AFAS Stadion this season, and AZ Alkmaar will look to defend their 14-game unbeaten home run in all competitions when they face Feyenoord on Sunday.
© Reuters
Feyenoord, meanwhile, head into the contest six points adrift of league leaders Ajax and one point behind PSV Eindhoven.
Closing the gap to an Ajax side who have lost just twice in the league this season may prove to be a difficult task, but Feyenoord will have realistic ambitions of leapfrogging PSV to clinch a spot in next season's Champions League qualifying round.
Slot's men fell behind early in their most recent fixture against Cambuur, but goals from Luis Sinisterra, Orkun Kokcu and Alireza Jahanbakhsh helped Feyenoord to a 3-1 victory.
The visitors enter Sunday's encounter unbeaten in their previous seven away league games, while their last three away matches have yielded maximum points.
Having scored nine goals in their previous three away contests, the visitors will be confident of troubling the AZ Alkmaar defence, while Feyenoord will also draw inspiration from the 1-0 victory that they achieved in the reverse fixture in October.
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
AZ Alkmaar are without the services of Yusuf Barasi and Jelle Duin, who will both miss the game due to injury issues.
Pantelis Hatzidiakos left the pitch in the 21st minute against Heracles after picking up a knock, but the centre-back is expected to be fit for Sunday's contest.
Meanwhile, Pavlidis has scored four goals in AZ Alkmaar's last three games in all competitions, and he will lead the line for the hosts against Feyenoord.
As for Feyenoord, they are unable to call upon the injured trio of Cyriel Dessers, Reiss Nelson and Philippe Sandler.
Fredrik Aursnes will serve a one-match suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards with Jorrit Hendrix expected to replace the 26-year-old in the centre of midfield.
Although Bryan Linssen has scored 11 league goals this season, he will look to end a five-game goal drought when he starts on Sunday.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Vindahl; Sugawara, Chatzidiakos, Martins Indi, Wijndal; Reijnders, Clasie, de Wit; Evjen, Karlsson, Pavlidis
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Bijlow; Geertruida, Trauner, Senesi, Malacia; Kokcu, Hendrix, Til; Jahanbakhsh, Sinisterra, Linssen
We say: AZ Alkmaar 2-2 Feyenoord
As well as enjoying a 17-game unbeaten run in all competitions, AZ Alkmaar have lost just once on home turf in the league this term, but they will be fully aware of the threat that Feyenoord pose.
Meanwhile, the visitors are looking for a fifth consecutive victory, but we think that they will have to settle for a point when they face an in-form AZ Alkmaar side.
Top tip
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 Alkmaar win with a probability of 43.65%. A win for Feyenoord had a probability of 31.92% and a draw had a probability of 24.4%.
The most likely scoreline for an AZ Alkmaar win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.08%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.57%) and 2-0 (6.83%). The likeliest Feyenoord win was 1-2 (7.57%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.39%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for AZ Alkmaar in this match.
