The contestants
After a rough patch, record champions Ajax have found their form again. After beating FC Groningen 5-2 and a 2-0 UEFA Conference League win over Atalanta, the Amsterdam giants won their third consecutive game against Sparta last weekend. The win propelled Ajax into second in the Eredivisie...
... A spot they took from Saturday's opponents, AZ. The Alkmaar outfit had a bright start to the new season, but have seemingly lost their form - AZ have won just one of their last five Eredivisie games. The 2-0 home loss to FC Twente was the latest negative result, and one that put them in a massive four-horse race for second place, with PSV and FC Twente also on 20 points, just one behind Ajax.
The key players
Ajax's new German duo has already won them their fair share of points - Julian Brandt and Marc ter Stegen have been fantastic this season. Brandt is already on six goals after 10 league games and added his first two assists in last week's win against Sparta, which is remarkable given he's already created 51 chances across all competitions.
Ter Stegen, meanwhile, has made some crucial saves. The German stopper has made 14 saves since the international break, with 5 on big chances and 1 on a penalty.
For AZ, much has rested on the shoulders of Mexx Meerdink and Valdemar Byskov. Meerdink, as the man in form during AZ's barren run, has scored in three of his last four games and is up to 7 goals for the season.
Despite only recently winning a starting spot, Byskov has made a positive impact for the Alkmaar side. Posted as an attacking midfielder, Byskov contributed in AZ's two most recent Europa League games and averaged one goal contribution per 99 minutes across all competitions.
The question marks
Ajax have mostly received good news on the injury front over the past two weeks, with Daley Blind returning to the matchday squad last weekend and Steven Berghuis returning this weekend. Absent against AZ are the trio of Oliver Edvardsen, Anton Gaaei, and Caio Henrique, who are expected to return after the November international break, as is Sunderland loanee Simon Adingra.
AZ will have to miss Kees Smit for at least one more game. The midfielder aimed to return for Saturday's clash, but is not back to full fitness yet, just like striker Jizz Hornkamp. Key defender Wouter Goes will be back for the Ajax game, while winger Ayoub Oufkir is suspended after accumulating five yellow cards.
What the managers said
Ajax manager Michel Sanchez
On Ajax being winless in five years against AZ: "I don’t really have an explanation for it, but AZ is a club with an excellent youth academy that does a brilliant job. You also see a lot of continuity at AZ - at all levels, including on the pitch. You can see it reflected in their play. I’m expecting a great match, and losing runs are there to be broken."
On the week's practice: "First and foremost, the focus was on the pace of the game. A high tempo is absolutely essential against AZ, and we’ve trained hard for that. The same goes for the way we apply pressure. The way we press AZ’s back line will be crucial. We all need to give it one hundred per cent as a team."
On the slightly inconsistent start of his Ajax reign: "Of course, I still have a great deal of room for improvement. I don’t feel I’ve reached my full potential, and I need to keep developing as a coach. I need to keep developing so that the players feel better every day. A coach must strengthen and improve his players, both individually and as a team."
On the critique aimed at Tolu's pressing: "Tolu is brilliant at applying pressure. It’s true that he’s sometimes lacked a bit of consistency. He’s the sort of player who, when he’s at one hundred per cent, is capable of doing it, just like Marcos Leonardo. Kasper did it too, but unfortunately we no longer have the option of using him."
AZ manager Leeroy Echteld
On AZ's dip in form: "It’s clear that it becomes more difficult when you’re playing European matches in between. You can’t always field the same players. That’s not a huge problem in itself - we’ve got a deep squad - but it makes it harder to gel as a team."
On teams adapting to AZ's style: "FC Twente sat quite deep. When they don’t have the ball, they simply drop back a long way and wait for us to make a mistake. We’ll need to attack in a more varied and effective way to create our chances. That’s been a sticking point of ours recently."
On Ajax's improvement: “I think they’re better than last year. They’ve also signed a few really good players. They’ve strengthened their squad. They’ve got a lot of technical ability and, of course, a few good players in midfield.”
On where to attack Ajax: "The moment you manage to win the ball back, you realise they can be quite open. If we want to play up front, we need to improve. You have to see if you can make changes to your style of play that will help you play better again.”
The prognosis
If Ajax want to hold on to second place, they'll have to free themselves of the shackles that AZ have put on them in recent years. The last time Ajax beat AZ in the Eredivisie was in April 2021, when a Davy Klaassen brace earned Ajax their 35th league title.
Now is the right time for Ajax to break the negative run of 10 winless H2H meetings with their North Holland neighbours, who have won just one league game since September 6th. But at the same time, it's not even been 10 months since AZ beat Ajax 6-0 in the KNVB Beker...
It's going to be a tight, hard-fought game in a sold-out Johan Cruyff ArenA. That's a guarantee with games between these two teams. Will Ajax keep their winning run going, or will AZ continue their head-to-head dominance?
Follow Ajax-AZ LIVE via Flashscore
Paul Winters is Flashscore's Netherlands country manager, having previously worked for Flashscore's Netherlands desk. Paul is an expert on the Eredivisie and also specialises in the NFL, as well as a plethora of other sports. Residing in 'sunny' Katwijk, you can follow all of the news from the Netherlands here.
You can find Paul on X and LinkedIn.
