FC Zwolle (home)
- FC Zwolle have 20 points from 18 games in 13th place in the Eredivisie going into the weekend, whilst AZ are 5th with 28 points from 17 matches.
- AZ coach Maarten Martens has fostered a young, progressive culture at the club that is maintaining their place in the race for a European spot, whilst Henry van der Vegt is a more experienced coach that preaches discipline, patience and possession soccer at Zwolle.
- Van der Vegt's philosophy is evident in Zwolle’s soccer, as they tend to stick to a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation and stick to their game plan to be patient and build up in a controlled manner.
AZ Alkmaar (away)
- AZ play a more flexible system, typically a 4-3-3, with a higher tempo, more aggressive pressing and a greater focus on driving the ball forward vertically.
- They use the density of their midfield to dictate the rhythm of the match and their full-backs provide the width for the team to attack with.
- This tactic puts a strain on Zwolle’s build-up play, as AZ will be pressing them hard and will attempt to cut off their passing lines.
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Recent stats:
- Zwolle have won 4, drawn 1 and lost 3 of their 8 home games this season, whilst AZ have won 4, drawn 1 and lost 4 of their 9 away games.
- Zwolle are scoring an average of 0.88 goals per home game, conceding 1.38 whilst AZ are scoring 1.44 and conceding 1.44 on the road.
Head-to-Head
AZ Alkmaar have won 3 and drawn 2 of the last 5 head-to-heads across all competitions, including a 3-1 win over Zwolle 5 weeks ago in the KNVB Cup.
Betting Insights
- AZ are the clear favorites for the game at 1.58, with Zwolle being 5.0 underdogs.
- The bookies have set 1.5 odds for over 2.5 goals, suggesting that they expect an end-to-end game.
Prediction
Given AZ ’s dominance in the head-to-heads, their form, and their position in the table, we think that they have a good chance of taking all 3 points away from Zwolle on Saturday.
