Having suffered consecutive league defeats, VVV-Venlo host AZ Alkmaar at the Covebo Stadion on Saturday seeking to get back to winning ways.
On the other hand, AZ are looking for a third win on the bounce in order to keep up the pressure on those around them in the race for European qualification.
Match preview
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Since losing 3-0 to Ajax on the last day of January, AZ have picked up maximum points in the league, scoring four goals while conceding just one.
The solitary goal that they have let in during that time came in their most recent win, which was a 3-1 victory over Heerenveen on Sunday.
However, Pascal Jansen's men are still 10 points behind the league leaders, so perhaps second place might be a more achievable target.
In October's reverse fixture, the Cheeseheads were on course for all three points, but they were stunned in the final seven minutes as Venlo struck twice to earn a 2-2 draw.
Overall, they have 12 wins from the last 17 meetings between the sides, including five triumphs in the last six away from home.
VVV's Eredivisie form has dwindled over the last two weeks with two defeats in a row coming on the back of a five-game unbeaten run prior to that.
Elsewhere, Hans de Koning's men have progressed into the semi-final of the KNVB-Beker courtesy of a 2-1 win in extra time over NEC Nijmegen.
Awaiting them in the next stage are Vitesse, who were beaten by Saturday's hosts in a comprehensive 4-1 victory when the teams met in January.
This is the first time that Venlose Trots have reached the last four of the Dutch cup since 1988, and they will be hopeful of going one step further by booking a place in April's final.
But for now, the main objective is to arrest their current slump in form and standing in the way is a side against whom they have struggled in recent seasons.
VVV-Venlo Eredivisie form: WDWWLL
VVV-Venlo form (all competitions): WWWLLW
AZ Alkmaar Eredivisie form: WWLLWW
AZ Alkmaar form (all competitions): LWLLWW
Team News
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AZ's Pantelis Hatzidiakos will serve a one-game suspension after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the win over Heerenveen.
In his absence, Timo Letschert is expected to come into the side for his eighth league start of the season, and just the third of 2021.
Ron Vlaar is nearing a return to action following his recovery from a muscle injury, but Sunday's game will come too soon for the defender.
The other absentees for the visitors are Dani De Wit (ankle injury), Jonas Svensson (calf injury) and Jordy Clasie (muscle tear).
Guus Hupperts has been sidelined with a knee problem since December, although he has made the bench on a couple of occasions since then.
Tristan Dekker is still a few weeks away from making his return to action as he battles with a muscle tear, and he will miss the game.
VVV-Venlo possible starting lineup:
Kirschbaum; Guwara, Da Graca, Gelmi, Pachonik; Linthorst, Donis, Post; Van Crooy, Giakoumakis, John
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Wijndal, Martins Indi, Hatzidiakos, Sugawara; Stengs, Koopmeiners, Midtsjo; Karlsson, Boadu, Gudmundsson
We say: VVV-Venlo 1-2 AZ Alkmaar
AZ Alkmaar have proven to be strong away from home so far, and we expect them to claim all three points on the road once again albeit by a narrow margin.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a AZ Alkmaar win with a probability of 65.97%. A draw had a probability of 17.9% and a win for VVV-Venlo had a probability of 16.13%.
The most likely scoreline for an AZ Alkmaar win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.45%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.28%) and 1-3 (7.7%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.73%), while for a VVV-Venlo win it was 2-1 (4.42%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 4.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that AZ Alkmaar would win this match.
