Both aiming to qualify for next season’s Conference League, FC Twente and AZ Alkmaar meet at De Grolsch Veste for a Eredivisie clash on Wednesday night.
The Tukkers secured a comfortable success over FC Utrecht last time out, whilst De Kaasboeren smashed midtable dwellers Groningen on home soil to boost their respective European hopes.
Match preview
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After a third-placed finish in the 2023-24 campaign – the club’s highest for a decade – Twente have failed to hit the same heights this season and will not return to the Champions League or Europa League, however they are still in the hunt for Conference League action next term.
Following a worrying five-game winless sequence stretching from the middle of March to the conclusion of April, the Tukkers have commenced their May schedule with back-to-back triumphs, securing 2-0 victories at Sparta Rotterdam and at De Grolsch Veste versus Utrecht.
Collecting a maximum of six points from their last two league fixtures, Joseph Oosting‘s troops have moved up to fifth spot in the Eredivisie standings ahead of Wednesday’s clash with AZ Alkmaar, eight points behind fourth-placed Utrecht with only six points left to fight for.
Whilst the Tukkers are nowhere near challenging for the Dutch crown, attacker Sem Steijn is cantering towards the division’s Golden Boot award, with the talented 23-year-old netting a sensational 24 goals across 31 Eredivisie appearances to date, nine more than his closest competitor.
Steijn and Twente have made De Grolsch Veste a relative fortress this season, losing just two of their 16 top-flights contests at the venue, however both of those defeats have arrived during the last few months, including a 6-2 hammering at the hands of Feyenoord in March.
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Following consecutive fourth-placed finishes in the Eredivisie in 2023 and 2024, AZ Alkmaar are guaranteed of a poorer standing this time around, although there is still plenty on the line for Wednesday’s visitors, who will be striving to pip Twente to a spot in the Conference League.
De Kaasboeren recently endured a nine-game winless run across the top flight, KNVB Cup and Europa League before a pair of 3-0 successes since the beginning of May, with Maarten Martens‘s boys triumphant over Go Ahead Eagles on May 4 before beating Groningen at home on Sunday afternoon.
Aiming to extend their unbeaten run in the top flight to four matches on Wednesday night, AZ Alkmaar are currently occupying sixth spot in the Eredivisie rankings, one place and one point below hosts Twente, meaning that the winner of this contest will end the night in fifth.
Losing just four of their 16 away matches this season, De Kaasboeren are a solid unit on the road and enjoyed their biggest away victory since August earlier in the month, when goals from Wouter Goes and Jayden Addai were the standout moments during a 3-0 scoreline at De Adelaarshorst versus Go Ahead.
Each of the last four meetings between Twente and AZ Alkmaar have ended in a home victory, and the last time the away side collected maximum points in this fixture was back in March 2022, when Joshua Brenet‘s second-half strike for Twente was enough for success at AFAS Stadion.
Team News
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Twente remain without the services of Sam Lammers, who dislocated his shoulder in April and is now sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.
The Tukkers are also unable to call upon the talents of Taylor Booth, with the American recovering from an injury picked up in the month of March.
AZ Alkmaar are likely to be missing leading goalscorer Troy Parrott, with the former Tottenham Hotspur youngster struggling with a groin issue.
The visitors’ options in the engine room are restricted by the fitness problems of Jordy Clasie and Kristijan Belic, who are battling calf and rib problems respectively.
Young goalkeeper Sem Westerveld remains unavailable, so Rome Owusu-Oduro and Hobie Verhulst will make up the shot-stopping department for AZ.
FC Twente possible starting lineup:
Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Hilgers, Van Hoorenbeeck, Kuipers; Kjolo, Sadilek, Rots, Steijn, Vlap; Van Wolfswinkel
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Owusu-Oduro; Kasius, Dekker, Penetra, Moller Wolfe; Smit, Koopmeiners, Poku, Mijnans, Van Bommel; Meerdink
We say: FC Twente 1-1 AZ Alkmaar
Both in excellent recent form, we are expecting a closely-fought affair between European hopefuls Twente and AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday night.
Without the talents of leading goalscorer Parrott, the visitors could struggle at the top end of the pitch, although they should be good enough for a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
