Almere City vs AZ Alkmaar prediction: NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie betting tips on match 2024-02-09 19:00.
With last weekend's 2-1 win over Excelsior Rotterdam, the chances of Almere City's inaugural stay in the Eredivisie extending beyond one season are rising. Alex Pastoor’s side are playing in a brave and fearless manner, pushing high up the pitch to put typically superior sides under pressure. After Feyenoord, Almere started this round as the team to have conquered the most balls in the attacking zone (6.5 per match) and with the most fouls committed (14.1 per game) of the league.
Almere has played just two official matches against AZ Alkmaar in their entire history and scored four goals in both meetings. A repeat of such numbers this weekend is immensely unlikely, though a win could be on the cards given AZ have not won any of their last nine competitive away games in regular time (D4, L5). Almere, on the other hand, has lost just one of their last seven Eredivisie home games (W3, D3).
AZ have lost twice to Feyenoord in four days and will only play in the Eredivisie throughout the rest of the season. The Alkmaarders are going through a huge dip in form and a new manager has not changed their fortune for the time being. They’re without a 90-minute win in nine straight matches across all competitions, vastly different from their first few months of the season.
After nine league matches, AZ had collected 25 of a possible 27 points with 25 goals and just four conceded. In the 11 matches that followed, they won only ten points and conceded more goals than they had produced (17 to 15). This season consequently appears to be fading out to nothing for AZ, although they started this round above Ajax on goal difference and therefore owns a place in the top four.
Players to watch: Peer Koopmeiners provided an assist to a teammate in half of his last eight official matches, including one against AZ. The visitors will once again have Vangelis Pavlidis at their disposal this weekend, the top scorer of the competition with 20 goals in as many games. He also scored twice in his previous meeting with Almere.
Hot stat: AZ failed to keep their goal clean in each of their last 12 matches, whilst conceding at least two goals in eight of the last nine.