About Match
11 points and 10 places separate them: AZ Alkmaar 2nd with 16, Sparta Rotterdam 12th with 5. Scoring rates set the scale: AZ Alkmaar 2.83 scored and 1 conceded per game, Sparta Rotterdam 1.67 and 2.17, with the league averaging 1.95. Victory would move AZ Alkmaar to 19 points and up to 1st, with other results unchanged.
Defeat has not touched AZ Alkmaar in 15 games, having scored in 15 consecutive games. From the last five rounds, AZ Alkmaar hold 13 points of 15 and Sparta Rotterdam 5.
The head-to-head ledger counts 20 games: 12 AZ Alkmaar wins, 3 for Sparta Rotterdam, 5 draws, at 2.9 goals per meeting. The host's record in this fixture is thin — 40% of meetings won.
AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar stages the fixture, a ground that holds 19,500.