Week 16 features a match on Sunday Dec 12th, where Ajax plays host to AZ Alkmaar in a meeting of these two mismatched Eredivisie teams. Weather on match day is looking like a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 8 degrees, making for an unpleasant day. Ajax is fresh off their 4-2 win against Sporting CP. Sébastien Haller scored the first goal for Ajax in the 8th minute on a penalty kick, then in the 22nd minute, Bruno Tabata sent in a beautiful pass which was converted by Nuno Santos , but Ajax kept scoring and walked away with the win. Ajax is on a hot streak lately, with 8 wins in their last 10 matches, while aZ Alkmaar sits at 8th place in the tables. In their last match they recorded a 3-1 win against Sparta Rotterdam. Adil Auassar struck first for Sparta Rotterdam in the 19th minute, then Jesper Karlsson tied it up for AZ Alkmaar in the 27th minute Finally they completed the comback in the 31st minute on a goal by Jesper Karlsson to cap off a wild match. With 20 points in their last 10 matches AZ Alkmaar should be reasonably happy with their performance.
On Jan 20th, AZ Alkmaar hosted Ajax in their last match together. Ajax won by a score of 1 to 0. Zakaria Labyad scored the first goal for Ajax in the 34th minute, and that single goal was all that was necessary as neither team could manage any more scoring In the end, AZ Alkmaar was frustrated by Ajax’s defence and couldn’t put any tallies on the board. Ajax ended the match with the shutout victory.
AZ Alkmaar’s most prolific scorer has been Jesper Karlsson. He has netted 3 goals over the last 5 matches. Sébastien Haller has been on a hot streak lately. In the last five games, hes scored 5 goals for Ajax
Kudus Mohammed and Maarten Stekelenburg are unavailable to play for Erik ten Hag’s team, while Hakon Evjen is unavailable to play for Pascal Jansen’s team.