AZ Alkmaar will be looking to maintain their perfect record in the Eredivisie this season when they take on NEC Nijmegen on Thursday.
On the other hand, the visitors are aiming to claim another positive result after picking up four points from their last two matches.
AZ Alkmaar have enjoyed a fine start to the 2022-23 season after successfully negotiating three Europa Conference League qualifying ties to reach the group stage, while claiming maximum points from their three league matches.
After kicking off their Eredivisie campaign with a 2-0 home victory over Go Ahead Eagles, they defeated Sparta Rotterdam 3-2 in their first away league game of the season.
Pascal Jansen’s side looked set to miss out on another victory at the weekend against Cambuur with the encounter heading towards a goalless draw, but Jordy Clasie scored a 90th-minute goal to snatch all three points.
Having played one game fewer than league leaders Ajax, AZ Alkmaar can move level on points with the defending champions if they can defeat NEC Nijmegen on Thursday.
NEC Nijmegen will be content with their start to the season after collecting four points from their opening three matches, despite having not been able to match their opponents’ points tally.
They began their campaign with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Twente, but they bounced back on matchday two, defeating Volendam 4-1 despite falling behind in the 11th minute.
NEC looked set to follow their first win of the season with a defeat on Friday after Laros Duarte gave Groningen the lead in the 75th minute, but a late goal from Ibrahim Cissoko helped the hosts snatch a point.
The visitors are currently sitting in ninth spot after avoiding defeat in their last two matches, but they have a tough task of claiming a positive result against an in-form AZ Alkmaar.
AZ Alkmaar vs NEC Nijmegen head to head
The two teams have previously met on 44 occasions across all competitions, where AZ have claimed 19 victories while NEC have won eight, and they have drawn in 17. AZ have scored 68 goals and conceded 41. In their last five meetings, AZ have won three, NEC one with one draw.
AZ 2-0 NEC 28/08/16
NEC 2-1 AZ 07/05/17
AZ 4-1 NEC 03/07/21
AZ 1-1 NEC 20/11/21
NEC 1-3 AZ 06/03/22
AZ Alkmaar latest home form
AZ Alkmaar have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their nine most recent matches. They defeated Gil Vicente 4-0 in their last home game in the Europa Conference League. In their last five matches, they have scored 15 goals and kept clean sheets.
AZ 1-0 Tuzla City 21/07/22
AZ 1-0 Bologna 24/07/22
AZ 2-0 Go Ahead Eagles 07/08/22
AZ 7-0 Dundee United 11/08/22
AZ 4-0 Gil Vicente 18/08/22
AZ Alkmaar latest away form
AZ Alkmaar have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They defeated Cambuur 0-1 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded four.
Tuzla City 0-4 AZ 28/07/22
Dundee United 1-0 AZ 04/08/22
Sparta Rotterdam 2-3 AZ 14/08/22
Gil Vicente 1-2 AZ 25/08/22
Cambuur 0-1 AZ 28/08/22
NEC Nijmegen latest home form
NEC Nijmegen have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their four most recent matches. They drew 1-1 with Groningen in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded four.
NEC 0-1 Fortuna Sittard 15/05/22
NEC 3-1 RKC Waalwijk 09/07/22
NEC 4-0 1. FC Bocholt 16/07/22
NEC 0-1 Twente 07/08/22
NEC 1-1 Groningen 26/08/22
NEC Nijmegen latest away form
NEC Nijmegen have recently been on an upturn in form on the road, as they have won each of their two most recent matches. They managed to defeat Volendam 4-1 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded 11.
Utrecht 1-0 NEC 29/04/22
PSV 3-2 NEC 11/05/22
FC Cologne 5-0 NEC 22/07/22
Heracles 1-3 NEC 29/07/22
Volendam 1-4 NEC 14/08/22
AZ Alkmaar news
AZ Alkmaar have no reported fresh injury concerns, although they are doubtful over the fitness of Jesper Karlsson and Riechedly Bazoer.
Vangelis Pavlidis has scored two goals for his side this season, and the forward will look to add to his tally when he leads the line against NEC Nijmegen.
NEC Nijmegen news
Mathias De Wolf and Magnus Mattsson could miss out for the visitors due to hamstring and knee injuries respectively, while Cissoko may have to settle for a place on the bench once again.
Pedro Marques is likely to feature up front, with Jordy Bruijn likely dropping out of the side as a result.
Prediction and Odds
NEC Nijmegen have picked up four points from their last two league matches, and will be feeling confident of coming away with a positive result on Thursday.
However, we think that they will fail to take anything off an AZ Alkmaar side who are enjoying an impressive run of form.
Odds: 1 1.88 X 2.10 2 2.23
Probable outcomes
AZ 2-0 NEC
AZ 2-1 NEC
AZ 3-0 NEC
AZ 3-1 NEC
AZ 3-2 NEC
