SC Cambuur host AZ Alkmaar at the Kooi Stadion in Leeuwarden on Sunday on match day nine of the Eredivisie.

AZ travel north sitting third on 19 points in the Eredivisie table after a 2-0 defeat at Feyenoord last weekend, while promoted Cambuur arrive on the back of a 1-0 win at PEC Zwolle that stretched their unbeaten run to four league matches.

Match preview

Johan Plat's Yellow-Blues have climbed away from the bottom of the table since a rough opening month, in which they shipped five goals at Feyenoord and four more at home to Twente.

A 3-0 win over NEC Nijmegen on September 12 remains Cambuur's best result of the season, with Rafik El Arguioui and Ilyes Hamache both among the scorers that afternoon.

Draws at Telstar and away to ADO Den Haag either side of that victory kept Cambuur's revival on track without yet lifting them clear of the bottom six.

The win at PEC Zwolle on Sunday was only the second time this season Cambuur have kept a clean sheet in the league.

El Arguioui and Hamache have been Plat's most reliable attacking outlet this season, even as Cambuur's defensive record remains one of the division's shakiest.

Cambuur sat 14th with five points from seven matches before the international break, and victory at Zwolle has since moved them to eight points from eight games.

Leeroy Echteld's AZ suffered a rare setback after a near-perfect opening two months, going down 2-0 at Feyenoord on Saturday for their first Eredivisie defeat of the season.

Wins over ADO Den Haag, Fortuna Sittard, Go Ahead Eagles, Heerenveen and Telstar, plus a 4-1 success at Utrecht, had carried AZ to the top of the table heading into that trip to De Kuip.

A 1-1 draw with Willem II on September 11 remains AZ's only other dropped points of the campaign, underlining the consistency Echteld has built since replacing Maarten Martens in January.

AZ sit third on 19 points after matchday eight, one point behind leaders Feyenoord and level with second-placed PSV Eindhoven.

Mexx Meerdink and Ro-Zangelo Daal have led the scoring this season, giving Echteld attacking options even when the visit to Feyenoord yielded little end product.

Echteld, who delivered the KNVB Cup within months of taking over in January, has lost just once in the league since and will expect a reaction away at a Cambuur side still finding its feet in the top flight.

Cambuur Eredivisie form:

Cambuur form (all competitions):

AZ Alkmaar Eredivisie form:

AZ Alkmaar form (all competitions):

Team News

Jamal Amofa has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a cruciate ligament injury, with Plat confirming this week that the defender will not feature again this term.

Wout Asselman remains unavailable, while Daan Visser is continuing his recovery from cruciate ligament surgery and is expected to return to the squad in the coming weeks.

Nicolas Binder has shaken off the minor issue that kept him among the substitutes at PEC Zwolle, and his 83rd-minute winner there, his second goal of the season, puts him firmly in contention for a recall to the starting lineup.

For the visitors, Echteld has no fresh injury concerns since the defeat at Feyenoord, with the group that beat Telstar and lost at De Kuip again available for selection.

Stije Resink remains the club's longest-term absentee, with the midfielder still recovering from a torn cruciate ligament, not expected back until around the turn of the year.

Jizz Hornkamp (ankle) and Kees Smit, who picked up a groin injury on international duty with the Netherlands Under-21s, are also sidelined, leaving Echteld with four senior players unavailable for the trip to Leeuwarden.

Denso Kasius has returned to full fitness and made a substitute appearance in the Europa League win over Hapoel Be'er Sheva on Thursday, giving Echteld another option at full-back.

With a congested October and November schedule mixing Eredivisie and Europa League fixtures, some squad rotation from the side that started at Feyenoord remains possible.

Cambuur possible starting lineup:

Jansen; Costarelli, Van Duijl, Baouf, Bouah; Souren, Apkakou; Kvam, El Arguioui, Hamache; Binder

AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:

De Busser; Dijkstra, Goes, Schouten, Chavez; Koopmeiners, Clasie; Stengs, Oufkir, Daal; Meerdink

We say: Cambuur 1-2 AZ Alkmaar

AZ should have enough attacking quality to end Cambuur's three-match unbeaten run, with Meerdink and Daal offering a cutting edge that the home defence has struggled to contain all season.

Cambuur have only failed to score in one of their eight league matches and pushed PEC Zwolle to a tense finish only a week ago, so Plat's side are unlikely to go down without a fight in front of their own supporters.

AZ's away form has been reliable rather than spectacular this season, and a narrow win that leaves Cambuur to rue missed chances looks the most likely outcome at the Kooi Stadion.

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