Aiming to make it four wins in a row, AZ Alkmaar prepare for the visit of Groningen to the AFAS Stadion in round 25 of the 2022-23 Eredivisie season.
The away side make the journey this weekend looking to record what would be only a second victory across all competitions since the turn of the year.
Match preview
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AZ Alkmaar put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League courtesy of a 2-1 first-leg triumph over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday.
Pascal Jansen's men went behind to Pedro's ninth-minute opener but showed great spirit to even matters on the stroke of half time through Vangelis Pavlidis, which allowed Milos Kerkez to score the winner just past the hour mark.
Prior to that, the Cheeseheads saw off the threat of Vitesse in a narrow 1-0 victory on Friday and remain third in the Eredivisie table as a result, five points off the top.
Lying in store next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with just two wins in the most recent 13 meetings between the teams dating back to 2017.
Ahead of the conclusion of their European tie next week, Saturday's hosts will be keen to set the tone with a dominant display in front of their fans where they have scored 16 times in their last five games.
Groningen were on the receiving end of a narrow 1-0 defeat against league leaders Feyenoord when the sides went head-to-head at De Kuip on Saturday night.
Dennis van der Ree's men looked to be on course to come away with an impressive point before Oussama Idrissi netted a late winner to settle matters in Rotterdam.
With 17 points picked up from their 24 outings this term, Trots van het Noorden sit bottom but one in the standings, three points adrift of safety.
Having lost each of their five away matches of 2023 by a combined score of 14-3, Saturday's visitors now prepare for what is set to be another tough assignment on enemy territory.
Team News
Isak Dybvik Maatta received his marching orders for two bookable offences in Groningen's defeat to Feyenoord, and the midfielder is ineligible to feature on Saturday.
The away side will also be without the services of Paulos Abraham due to a knee problem, while Ragnar Oratmangoen remains unavailable due to a concussion.
Mads Bech Sorensen has missed the last four matches with a broken hand, and he is still a considerable way off making his return to action.
Riechedly Bazoer, Sem Westerveld and Sam Beukema are still sidelined with knee injuries and will not play any part for AZ Alkmaar this weekend.
Dani de Wit also misses out with a leg injury, while 31-year-old Bruno Martins Indi continues his spell out of action due to a long-term hip injury.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Kerkez, Chatzidiakos, Goes, Sugawara; Mijnans, Mihailovic, Reijnders; Karlsson, Pavlidis, Odgaard
Groningen possible starting lineup:
Verrips; Willems, Balker, Blokzijl, Val Gelderen; Hove, Suslov, Duarte; Pepi, Irandust, Manu
We say: AZ Alkmaar 3-1 Groningen
Buoyed by their European triumph in midweek, AZ will head into this weekend's contest with a spring in their step. We fancy the home side to stroll to a routine victory here, scoring plenty of goals en route.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
