EXCELSIOR VS AZ ALKMAAR PREVIEW & PREDICTION
Two light spots of the season are facing each other on the artificial grass of Woudensteijn. AZ Alkmaar is fully involved in a spot in the top three, while Excelsior is in a good tenth place.
Excelsior :
The current tenth place is a very clever achievement from one of the teams the smallest budget. Excelsior usually achieves the points on his own Woudensteijn, but this year seems to play football especially outside Rotterdam. In seven of the thirteen away games, the Rotterdam-squads won the field as winners.
Last weekend we also succeeded in Heerenveen. In a rather boring game, SC Heerenveen had the field overweight and also got some good chances here. The great hero of Excelsior eventually did not become the maker of the only goal, Mike van Duinen. It was goalkeeper Theo Zwarthoed who showed his qualities at different times and managed to keep the zero in a clever way.
It was a new and also clever win-over from the team from Rotterdam. Ten matches before the end of the season they already seem to have entered the safe harbor. Coach Mitchell van de Gaag can not be anything but satisfied with the first 24 matches of this season. The Rotterdammers can even look up with a bit of bluff and take part in the other Play-Offs.
AZ Alkmaar :
Also in Alkmaar the trainer is currently on hand. John van den Brom was criticized at an earlier stage, but this season he got the team running properly. The current third place is a good reflection of the forces of AZ. In fact, many experts call AZ as the best footballing team of the Dutch Eredivisie.
Last weekend AZ had the greatest difficulty with the Sparta of Dick Advocaat. The Spartans dropped far back, especially after they had already taken the lead after just 20 minutes. It was corn on the mill of the last team, who had just come for a point. This also seemed to be good for the Rotterdammers for a long time. After Wout Weghorst had leveled AZ just before half time, Oussama Idrissi was the celebrated man just before time.
Yet it is often difficult for the Alkmaarders against the collapsing teams. The last three home games yielded five points, but after a draw against VVV and Roda JC, the meager 2-1 victory over Sparta was not to write home. Although the field game against these teams does not always excel, Van den Brom knows that it is ultimately about the points.
PREDICTION: AZ Alkmaar to win @ 1.55
