AZ Alkmaar will look to strengthen their position at the top end of the Eredivisie table on Sunday, when they welcome Fortuna Sittard to AFAS Stadion.
The hosts dropped points for the first time this season on Thursday, playing out a 1-1 draw with Heracles after a perfect start, while their visitors sit eighth after their first defeat of the campaign last Friday.
Match preview
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Aiming to improve on last season's fourth-placed finish in the Eredivisie, AZ Alkmaar headed into the 2023-24 campaign under Pascal Jansen with plenty of optimism, and they have certainly enjoyed an impressive start, currently sitting second with 16 points on the board from just six league outings.
That is thanks to a perfect record in their opening five Dutch top-flight games, having headed into the international break with nine points on the board courtesy of 5-1, 3-1 and 2-0 beatings of Go Ahead Eagles, RKC Waalwijk and Vitesse respectively.
On their return to action in mid-September, De Kaasboeren picked up where they left off with a fourth straight three-point haul, beating Sparta Rotterdam 2-0 courtesy of goals from Dani De Wit and Vangelis Pavlidis, before falling to a narrow 4-3 defeat in their Europa Conference League group stage curtain-raiser away at Zrinjski Mostar and bouncing back in style in the league, making it 15 points from a possible 15 away at PEC Zwolle last weekend.
Mayckel Lahdo put them ahead inside 15 minutes in that trip, and Myron van Brederode and Pavlidis added second-half goals in an eventual 3-0 triumph, before Jansen's side most recently saw their perfect start come to an end on Thursday, as their contest at home to Heracles ended level at a goal apiece, with Pavlidis putting them ahead early before Anas Ouahim levelled the scores and forced a share of the points in the second half.
Still with plenty to be pleased about from their fast start, and with their unbeaten record still intact, AZ Alkmaar will bid to return to winning ways on Sunday with the aim of keeping within touching distance of leaders PSV Eindhoven, who have won all six of their matches thus far.
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They welcome a Fortuna Sittard side who are also aiming to get back to winning ways after suffering their first league defeat of the campaign last time out.
Following their 13th placed finish in the Dutch top flight last term, Sunday's visitors have enjoyed an encouraging start to the new term, beginning with a five-game unbeaten run as they headed into the international break with six points from four outings thanks to a victory over Almere City and creditable draws with Feyenoord, Excelsior and Ajax.
On their return to action, Danny Buijs's side extended their unbeaten run and added three more points to their tally on home turf, coming from a goal down to beat Volendam 3-1 as Oguzhan Ozyakup equalised on the hour mark and Tijjani Noslin and Alen Halilovic went on to find the net, before they were handed a first competitive defeat of the campaign in a tough trip to fellow fast starters Go Ahead Eagles last weekend.
Goals from Oliver Valaker Edvardsen, Sylla Sow and Philippe Rommens condemned Fortunezen to a 3-0 beating in that contest, and having dropped to eighth as a result, they will be keen to bounce back and pull off an upset on their travels on Sunday.
Team News
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Despite their disappointing draw last time out, AZ Alkmaar should steer clear from making many changes from midweek, although there will be one enforced alteration at the back, with Riechedly Bazoer ruled out through injury and Bruno Martins Indi expected to take his place at the heart of the back four.
In their preferred 4-2-3-1 shape, Jordy Clasie and Sven Mijnans will again partner up in the engine room, while Dani De Wit will provide attacking support through the centre, having contributed three league goals so far this term.
He will support star man Vangelis Pavlidis, who is bound to lead the line with confidence having notched up a league-high tally of eight goals in just six Eredivisie appearances thus far.
Fortuna Sittard should also come in with a similar starting XI to their last outing in a 4-2-3-1 setup, despite suffering a heavy defeat to Go Ahead Eagles, with Dimitrios Siovas and Rodrigo Guth bound to continue their partnership in the middle of the defence having both featured in every minute of league action so far this term.
Deroy Duarte is another mainstay in the engine room, and he will continue to play a key role with Oguzhan Ozyakup fighting to come in and join him in the centre after Loreintz Rosier was preferred last time out.
Ahead of them, Alen Halilovic will again feature in a more attacking role, supporting striker Kaj Sierhuis with Tijjani Noslin and Inigo Cordoba looking to cause further problems on the wings.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Suganawa, Penetra, Martins Indi, Wolf; Clasie, Mijnans; Lahdo, De Wit, Van Brederode; Pavlidis
Fortuna Sittard possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Pinto, Guth, Siovas, Dijks; Duarte, Ozyakup; Cordoba, Halilovic, Noslin; Sierhuis
We say: AZ Alkmaar 3-0 Fortuna Sittard
Aiming to bounce back from a first setback of the season in midweek, we see AZ Alkmaar being far too strong for Sunday's visitors and making a return to winning ways in dominant fashion on home turf.
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