AZ Alkmaar go into Friday's game with a perfect league record and very little reason for caution. They have won each of their opening five league games, are on an eight-game winning streak and have gone 18 matches unbeaten. On top of that, Ro-Zangelo Daal has already scored four league goals, including the winner against Heerenveen.
AZ's start and Daal's form
The main reason this looks so lopsided is simple enough: AZ keep winning and Daal keeps scoring. Five wins from five is the sort of start that gives a side control of the table early, but the eight-game streak is even more telling because it stretches beyond the opening weeks. The unbeaten run of 18 games backs up the same point.
Daal's fourth league goal of the season came in that Heerenveen win, and it gives AZ another route to goals if Willem II manage to sit deep. He has become a dependable outlet in a team that is already carrying real momentum. Willem II, by contrast, have scored the fewest goals in the division so far.
Why the visitors face a hard night
Willem II did at least pick up their first point of the campaign in a 2-2 draw with Heerenveen, but that is still a thin base to take into a trip like this. They remain only one point from safety, although they are level on points with fellow newcomers Cambuur and ADO Den Haag in the bottom three.
Sports Mole's preview put it bluntly: "It is hard to see Friday’s clash yielding anything other than a home win, and we are backing AZ to run out comfortable victors." Their predicted scoreline is AZ Alkmaar 3-0 Willem II, which feels in line with the gap in form and firepower.
Leeroy Echteld's side have at least shown enough to avoid total collapse, but the scale of the challenge is obvious. AZ Alkmaar have the points, the streak and the scorer. Willem II have the division's weakest attack and a away trip to one of the league's hottest starts.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
