Utrecht vs AZ Alkmaar Match Preview

Utrecht is ranked at 10th place with 16 points and comes after a single win three draws and a loss over the last five matches. Being one game short, this would be a good chance for them to shorten the distance with the Play-offs for Europa League in case of a win. They finally broke an eight game winless streak last week against FC Emmen and this should be a good booster for their morale.

In the last five matches they scored seven goals in total, averaging at least a goal and managed to find the back of the net at least once in each outing. Even at home they did pretty nice with five goals in the last five matches, failing to score only against league leaders Ajax.

AZ Alkmaar, on the other hand, is ranked at 5th place with 26 points and comes in a great form with four wins and just a loss over the last five matches. This form helped them climb in ranks and consolidate their position in the Europa League play offs. Now, they sit only three points behind the 3rd spot and in case of a win they could see themselves only four points behind PSV of the 2nd place.

Their offensive side has been on fire with 33 goals scored in 13 games, averaging at least two goals per game. In the last five matches they have scored a total of 14 goals, averaging almost three goals per game. They bounced right back after that loss against Groningen winning the next three games.

In conclusion, I think both teams can score at least a goal here. Utrecht is in need for points here as they currently sit closer to the relegation zone than the Europa League. I guess they can score once against an AZ Alkmaar team that failed to keep a clean sheet in any of the last five duels. AZ Alkmaar has the second best attack in the league after Ajax. Koopmeiners has been very prolific with eight goals and three assists until now and I would not be surprised to see him in the score sheet after failing to score in the past game.