PSV Eindhoven will aim to maintain their 100% record in the Eredivisie when they take on AK Alkmaar at AFAS Stadion on Sunday night.
Having won all 15 of their league games this season, PSV find themselves 10 points clear of second-placed Feyenoord and 12 points ahead of third-placed AZ Alkmaar.
Can Peter Bosz’s side make it 16 wins from 16? Or could AZ finally halt PSV’s hot streak? It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
Let’s start with the hosts, AZ Alkmaar, who suffered a 2-0 defeat against Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
As a result, AZ failed to qualify for the knockout phase of Europe’s tertiary club competition after finishing six points outside the top two in Group E.
In the Eredivisie, Alkmaar kicked off their campaign with a 10-game unbeaten streak, keeping pace with PSV during the early stages of the season.
However, the Cheese Farmers have experienced a run of inconsistent results of late, recording two wins, two draws and two losses in their previous six league outings.
Meanwhile, PSV Eindhoven played out a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday, racking up 17 shots against the Premier League giants.
That draw extended PSV’s unbeaten run in all competitions to 16 matches, as Bosz’s men have claimed 13 wins and three draws since their last loss.
Remarkably, PSV have won each of their 15 Eredivisie games this season, scoring 52 goals (3.5 goals per game) while conceding just six.
Having kept 11 clean sheets in the league this term, the runaway leaders will be confident of extending their 100% record at the expense of AZ Alkmaar.
Head-to-head: PSV have not enjoyed a great deal of success against AZ of late, with the Eindhoven outfit losing six of the previous eight league meetings between the clubs.
That said, PSV have won each of their past two away games against Alkmaar, winning 3-0 in 2021 before winning 2-1 in the same fixtures last season.
Team news: No player has scored more Eredivisie goals than AZ’s Vangelis Pavlidis (18) this season, while Dani de Wit has bagged five goals and three assists.
As for PSV, Luuk de Jong has notched 10 goals and six assists in the league, with Joey Veerman contributing three goals and nine assists from midfield.
Regardless of AZ’s strong record against PSV in recent season, the Eindhoven outfit look set to extend their remarkable winning run this weekend.
Forebet predicts that AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven will combine for over 4.5 goals, with the visitors outscoring the hosts.