AZ Alkmaar vs Telstar Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

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AZ Alkmaar

vs

Telstar

KickoffSunday 20 September 2026, 1:30pm

VenueAFAS Stadion Alkmaar

CompetitionDutch Eredivisie

Six wins from six to start the season, and then the wheels come off slightly. AZ Alkmaar had been absolutely flying, opening the scoring in seven consecutive matches and looking every inch like a side that had hit the ground running under Leeroy Echteld. Then came a goalless draw with Willem II, followed by a 1-0 Europa League defeat to Sunderland, and suddenly PSV Eindhoven have nipped back ahead of them on goal difference. It is the kind of blip that can define a title challenge if you let it fester, and AZ will be absolutely desperate to get back to winning ways quickly.

Against them comes Telstar, a side who started with promise but have faded badly since that opening day win over NEC Nijmegen. One win from six in the Eredivisie, three blanks in their last four matches, and a grand total of five league goals scored all season. The numbers do not make pretty reading for Henk Brugge, and this fixture is not the one you would pick to rediscover your mojo.

AZ Alkmaar vs Telstar Match Details

This Eredivisie fixture takes place at the AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar. AZ are one of three unbeaten sides in the division heading into this matchday, while Telstar arrive rooted just outside the relegation zone and needing a result to ease any early season nerves.

Team News

AZ have a couple of injury concerns to manage, though one familiar face has returned to bolster the squad ahead of this one.

• Denso Kasius is out with a groin problem and has not featured at all this season
• Stije Resink is also sidelined with a knee injury and will miss Sunday
• Kees Smit is back in contention after returning from injury in the midweek Europa League game against Sunderland
• Mexx Meerdink has stepped up since Troy Parrott left, registering four direct goal contributions in six league outings
• Abedelnour Soualhia cannot feature for Telstar as he is on loan from AZ, which could hand Prince Aning a start
• Sem Valk has started all four matches since arriving from Dordrecht in the summer and is expected to keep his place

Predicted Lineups

Echteld is likely to stick close to the side that has served him so well this season. With Smit back available, there is a selection decision to make, but the core of the team picks itself. Meerdink leads the line having taken on greater responsibility since Parrott’s exit, and the creative players behind him have been in fine form for most of the campaign.

AZ Alkmaar: De Busser; Dijkstra, Goes, Schouten, Chavez; Clasie, Koopmeiners; Stengs, Kwakman, Daal; Meerdink. Telstar line up in a compact shape with Ronald Koeman Jr behind a defensive unit that has actually held firm reasonably well by Telstar standards. Koeman Jr; Aning, Peersman, Valk; Hardeveld, Rossen, Owusu, Alders; Brouwer, Mendes; Thorisson.

Recent Form

AZ had been in sensational nick before their recent wobble. Six wins from six across all competitions, scoring freely, pressing hard, and looking genuinely title worthy. The draw with Willem II felt like a surprise at the time, and the Europa League defeat to Sunderland compounded it. That said, losing to one of the Championship’s most ambitious clubs in a European opener is not exactly a crisis. AZ remain unbeaten in the Eredivisie and are still joint top of the table.

What is telling is that even in their good run, Telstar were conceding first in the majority of their games. AZ had scored the opening goal in seven consecutive matches before that Willem II stalemate, and they will be eager to get that habit back against a Telstar side who have conceded first in four of their last five fixtures. That pattern matters when you are trying to predict how this game unfolds.

Telstar’s form tells a difficult story. That win over NEC Nijmegen on the opening day now looks like something of an outlier. They followed it up with two wins at the tail end of last season to give themselves a three game winning run, but since that first day result this term it has been almost entirely downhill. Two points from five games, three clean sheets kept but only five goals scored in total. The 0-0 with Heerenveen last time out was at least defensively solid, but Brugge knows goals need to come from somewhere.

Head-to-Head Record

The head to head is as lopsided as they come at this level. AZ have won all five competitive meetings with Telstar since 2015, including both league fixtures and a KNVB Beker semi final last season. The only time Telstar have beaten AZ in recent memory was in a friendly, which tells you everything about how these two sides match up when there are points or trophies on the line.

Telstar have conceded the first goal in six of the last seven meetings between these clubs. That is not a coincidence. AZ’s quality in the opening exchanges and their ability to set the tempo of a game at the AFAS Stadion tends to put sides like Telstar on the back foot very quickly.

Key Stats

• AZ are averaging close to three league goals per game this season, Telstar have managed just five in total
• Telstar have scored in only one of their last four matches, and those two goals both came via the penalty spot
• AZ have not lost consecutive matches since a three game losing run in November 2025 under the previous manager

AZ Alkmaar vs Telstar Betting Tips

The maths here is fairly brutal for Telstar. You have a side with the worst attacking numbers in the division travelling to one of the most in form attacks around. AZ need a response after two disappointing results, and home games against struggling sides tend to produce exactly that. The angle here is AZ winning comfortably, and there are a few markets that look very appetising.

Cards Prediction

Telstar will need to work hard defensively and could find themselves chasing the game from early doors, which tends to lead to frustration and cynical fouls. Expect a few yellows as AZ probe and Telstar scramble to hold their shape. Over 3.5 cards looks a reasonable shout in this one.

Both Teams To Score (BTTS) Prediction

No. Telstar have blanked in three of their last four matches, their only goals in that run came from the spot, and they are heading to a ground where AZ’s defence has been well drilled all season. BTTS No is the call here, and it is not a close one.

First Goalscorer Prediction

Mexx Meerdink is the standout pick. He has stepped into a genuine leadership role up front since Parrott left, has four direct goal contributions in six league games already, and will be hungry to remind everyone of his quality after a difficult midweek in the Europa League. AZ will want to score early and he is the man to do it.

Corners Prediction

AZ will dominate possession and territory, and Telstar’s defensive approach will likely invite pressure from wide areas. A high corners total is very much on the cards here. Over 9.5 match corners looks like a solid selection given how one sided this contest is likely to be.

Bet Builder Tip

AZ controlling this game from front to back makes all three of these picks point in the same direction, with Meerdink the likeliest beneficiary of sustained home pressure against a side that struggles to get out of their own half.

Final Match Prediction

AZ Alkmaar have a point to prove after back to back games without a win, and Telstar are precisely the kind of opponent you want to face when you need to get your confidence back. The hosts have dominated this fixture every time it has mattered, their attack is loaded with quality, and Telstar simply do not have the firepower to cause problems at the other end.

This looks like a comfortable afternoon at the AFAS Stadion. AZ Alkmaar 3-0 Telstar.

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