Preview: Cambuur vs. AZ Alkmaar - prediction, team news, lineups

Preview: Cambuur vs. AZ Alkmaar - prediction, team news, lineups
Cambuur and AZ Alkmaar draw the curtain on round four of the 2022/23 Eredivisie season with a meeting at the Cambuur Stadion on Sunday. The home side are looking to make it two league wins on the spin, while the visitors go in search of a sixth consecutive victory across all competitions. © Reuters AZ Alkmaar confirmed their place in the group stages of the Europa Conference League courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Gil Vicente on Thursday which secured a 6-1 triumph on aggregate.
A quickfire double from Hakon Evjen and Tijjani Reijnders put Pascal Jansen 's men in cruise control before Juan Boselli pulled one back late on. The Cheeseheads have also made a fine start to the new Eredivisie season and sit sixth in the league table with six points from a possible six. Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who are yet to come out on top in any of the most recent 11 meetings between the sides over the last decade.
Having recently ended a six-game domestic winless run away from home, Sunday's visitors will be looking to secure back to back league triumphs on the road for the first time since March. Cambuur got their Eredivisie campaign up and running with a 4-1 victory over Fortuna Sittard in Saturday's encounter at the Fortuna Sittard Stadion. Henk de Jong 's men fell behind to Burak Yilmaz 's opener before goals from Michael Breij and Jasper Ter Heide either side of a Mees Hoedemakers brace turned the game on its head.
With four points from three outings this term, The Yellow-Blues are 10th in the league standings, albeit just two points off Feyenoord in third. Currently on a run of one win in eight home games, Sunday's hosts will be eager to arrest their slump in form on home turf and give their fans reason to cheer come the full-time whistle this weekend. Cambuur are set to be without the services of 21-year-old Maxim Gullit , who has not featured since picking up a knee injury in February.
Silvester van der Water is also ruled out for this weekend's hosts as the Dutchman continues to battle with a long-term leg injury. Having come off the bench to good effect last time out, Michael Breij could be rewarded with a place in the starting lineup here. Despite seeing his three-game scoring streak come to an end against Gil Vicente, Dani de Wit remains one to keep an eye on for AZ Alkmaar.
Jesper Karlsson and Zinho Vanheusden remain sidelined for the away side through muscle and ankle injuries, while Jens Odgaard continues to nurse a groin problem. Cambuur possible starting lineup: Virginia; Bangura, Bergsma, Tol, Schmidt; Paulissen, Hoedemakers, Breij; Smit, Uldrikis, Balk AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup: Verhulst; Kerkez, Martins Indi, Beukema, Chatzidiakos; Clasie, De Wit, Reijnders; Evjen, Pavlidis, Van Brederode AZ's dominance in this fixture means that it is hard to envisage any other result than a victory for them here. We are backing the away side to cruise to all three points in what should be a largely one-sided affair.
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