AZ Alkmaar kick off their Eredivisie campaign at home against Go Ahead Eagles at the AFAS Stadion on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts finished fourth last season, and they will be hoping to be in contention for the European places once again, while the visitors' aim will be to solidify themselves as an Eredivisie side, having finished 11th in the 2022-23 campaign.
Match preview
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Alkmaar are likely to be fairly pleased with their 2022-23 season, given that they once again secured qualification for the playoff round of the Europa Conference League, having reached the semi-final stage of Europe's tertiary competition last season.
After a very solid pre-season, winning four and drawing two of their friendly matches, the Kaaskoppen have already played their first competitive fixture, just about managing to record a victory away at FC Santa Coloma in their Conference League qualifier.
Pascal Jansen's side headed into the match as heavy favourites, but they did not put in the best of performances against the Andorran side, recording just one shot on target in the entire match.
However, that solitary effort on goal was decisive, with Djordje Mihailovic's late goal proving to be the difference between the two sides, and Alkmaar take a slender advantage into the home leg next Thursday.
Before then, however, the Kaaskoppen kick off their Eredivisie campaign at home against a side they have a very good recent record against, having won seven and drawn one of the last eight meetings with their opponents this Sunday.
Indeed, Go Ahead Eagles often struggle against Alkmaar, and they did not enjoy away games last season, collecting just 13 points from the 17 Eredivisie matches they played on the road.
As such, manager Rene Hake will be well aware of the difficulty of the task that lies ahead, and his side did not have the best pre-season, winning two and losing three of their friendlies, most recently succumbing to a 2-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund reserves at home.
After being promoted back to the Dutch top flight in the 2020-21 season, the Deventer-based club are likely to be happy with how they have adapted to the level, finishing 12 points above the relegation zone last term.
Go Ahead Eagles have made year-on-year improvements since their return to the Eredivisie, and they could go one step further this season, having only finished six points below the European places in the 2022-23 campaign.
That said, Hake was forced to part ways with Isac Lidberg in the summer, with the striker, who amassed more Eredivisie goal contributions than any other player in the squad, joining FC Utrecht, and first-choice centre-back Jay Idzes moved to Venezia, so it will be interesting to see if the team can adapt after losing two of their key players.
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Team News
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AZ Alkmaar have a couple of injury doubts heading into the game, with defender Bruno Martins Indi set to miss out due to a hip injury, meaning Pantelis Chatzidiakos and Riechedly Bazoer should get the nod at centre-back.
Sam Westerveld is also unavailable, with the goalkeeper still missing with a knee injury, so Mat Ryan is poised to keep his place between the sticks, having started against FC Santa Coloma on Thursday night.
Vangelis Pavlidis is the danger man for Alkmaar, having scored a combined 30 goals in his last two Eredivisie seasons, with Mayckel Lahdo and Jesper Karlsson set to support him from the flanks, in a 4-3-3 system.
Go Ahead Eagles also have a couple of absentees, with goalkeeper Evert Linthorst still out injured, so Jeffrey de Lange should start, having played every league game last season.
Striker Finn Stokers is also missing, and after Lidberg's departure to Utrecht, it is likely that Rashaan Fernandes leads the line for Hake's side.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Sugawara, Bazoer, Chatzidiakos, Wolfe; Clasie, De Wit, Mijnans; Lahdo, Karlsson, Pavlidis
Go Ahead Eagles possible starting lineup:
De Lange; Deijl, Amofa, Aventisian, Kuipers; Rommens, Blomme, Adekanye, Willumsson, Edvardsen; Fernandes
We say: AZ Alkmaar 2-0 Go Ahead Eagles
AZ Alkmaar amassed 27 more points than Go Ahead Eagles last season, and they have a very impressive recent record against their opponents, winning the last five matches on the spin.
As such, we expect Jansen's side to record a comfortable victory on Sunday afternoon, kicking off their Eredivisie campaign in perfect fashion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Dominic Lund
