Waalwijk vs AZ Alkmaar prediction: NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie betting tips on match 2023-08-19 14:45.
Taking on AZ Alkmaar is not easy for any Eredivisie club, but RKC Waalwijk have managed to cope very well against the Alkmaarders in recent seasons, managing to win three of their last four meetings with AZ! A repeat of that will certainly be more than welcome at RKC, which ended last season with three large defeats and followed it up with a 3-1 loss to Heerenveen last week.
RKC waved goodbye to a lot of experienced players over the off-season, such as Mats Seuntjens, Iliass Bel Hassani, Vurnon Anita, Florian Jozefzoon and club icon Hans Mulder. The 34-year-old captain Michiel Kramer now has to carry the burden and immediately set a good example in Friesland by striking. The club strengthened itself this week with Reuven Niemeijer, who struggled to score in Serie B, but accrued 17 goals and 11 assists in his last sojourn in the Netherlands’ second tier.
In recent seasons, Jesper Karlsson has been one of AZ Alkmaar’s outstanding stars, but his absence has been well taken care of by Ruben van Bommel in recent weeks. The young newcomer was accurate in his first two starts, whilst in his Eredivisie debut he was also good for an assist. His side thrashed Go Ahead Eagles 5-1 in their opening round, meaning the Alkmaarders proudly stood atop of the standings during the week.
They’ve sold three starters in this window, namely Tijjani Reijnders, Milos Kerkez and Sam Beukema, whilst Pantelis Hatzidiakos has been linked with a move to Leeds United. AZ have managed to account for those departures either internally or with new acquisitions, but are looking a little thin for centre-backs owing partly to injuries.
Players to watch: Despite not entering the game until the 80th minute, Zakaria Bakkali made the most of his limited time with two goals in his last home game against AZ. Similarly, Mayckel Lahdo played only half an hour as a substitute in his last two matches, but he managed to score in both games. He was also on the scoresheet of his last clash with RKC.
Hot stat: Just one of the last 24 matches between these clubs was drawn.