Preview: AZ Alkmaar vs. FC Utrecht - prediction, team news, lineups

Both teams will be looking to secure a place in the quarter-final and move one step closer to glory in this year's edition of the Dutch domestic cup.

Match preview

AZ Alkmaar were held to a second consecutive share of the spoils following a 1-1 stalemate against FC Volendam at the Kras Stadion on Saturday.

Pascal Jansen's men fell behind to Xavier Mbuyamba's opener just past the hour mark after which Jens Odgaard struck seven minutes from time to restore parity.

Consequently, the Cheeseheads have now missed the opportunity to move level on points with current leaders Feyenoord at the top of the Eredivisie table.

Lying in store next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with just one victory in the most recent six meetings between the teams across all competitions.

Having lost only one of their last 20 matches on home turf, Tuesday's hosts have proven themselves to be a huge force to reckon with in front of their fans.

Utrecht returned to winning ways on Saturday evening as they saw off the threat of Heerenveen in a 1-0 victory at the Stadion Galgenwaard.

Anastasios Douvikas opened the scoring from 12 yards in the 69th minute and that was enough to get the job done for Michael Silberbauer's men.

With 33 points amassed from 20 league outings this term, the Domstedelingen have now moved six points clear of the chasing pack in the race for the final European spot.

Currently on a run of 11 goals conceded in their last five away involvements, Tuesday's visitors will need to keep things tight at the back to stand any chance of coming out on top.

AZ Alkmaar KNVB Beker form:

AZ Alkmaar form (all competitions):

D

W

W

W

D

D

FC Utrecht KNVB Beker form:

FC Utrecht form (all competitions):

D

D

L

W

D

W

Team News

Anastasios Douvikas has netted six times in his last four starts and the 23-year-old will be heavily relied upon once again to deliver the goods.

Bas Dost is set to miss a fourth straight game due to a foot injury, while Ramon Hendriks, Bart Ramselaar and Django Warmerdam remain sidelined with knee problems.

Tommy St. Jago is still yet to feature for Utrecht this term but the defender is drawing increasingly closer to making a return to action.

AZ's dup of Riechedly Bazoer and Sam Beukema are currently unavailable as they continue to battle with knee injuries with Zinho Vanheusden also missing out through injury.

Vangelis Pavlidis is definitely one to keep an eye on after the Greece international netted a hat-trick in his last game against Tuesday's opponents.

AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:

Ryan; Sugawara, Kerkez, Clasie, Chatzidiakos; Dekker, Odgaard; Reijnders, Pavlidis, Mihailovic; Karlsson

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Barkas; Van der Hoorn, Toornstra, Viergever, Klaiber; Booth, Sagnan; Van de Streek, Douvikas, Bozdogan

We say: AZ Alkmaar 2-1 FC Utrecht

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