Go Ahead Eagles will host AZ Alkmaar at De Adelaarshorst in Deventer on April 23, 2026, with kickoff scheduled for 12:45 PM and the Eredivisie fixture shown on Select. AZ arrive with Troy Parrott, who scored his 30th goal of the season in stoppage time to win the KNVB Cup final, and will aim to add to his run against Deventer — he is chasing a goal in a fourth straight meeting between these teams.
The numbers set the stakes. Go Ahead sit 11th in the table and come into the match with two wins, one draw and two defeats from their last five league games, scoring 11 and conceding six across that span. Their recent home form has been notable: victories over NAC Breda and PEC Zwolle produced a combined 11-0 scoreline. AZ sit sixth, fresh from a 5-1 success in the KNVB Cup final and a 3-0 league win at SC Heerenveen, and they beat Fortuna Sittard 2-0 as part of a busy run that also included a 2-2 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk after a 3-0 first-leg deficit.
Injuries will shape selection. Go Ahead are without Y. Salah Rahmouni, G. van Zwam, J. Dirksen, R. Weijenberg, G. Nauber and P. Saathof, while AZ have one injury concern with J. Hornkamp unavailable. Projected lineups show Go Ahead readying J. De Busser in goal with S. Sigurdarson and V. Edvardsen in attack; AZ are expected to start J. Zoet, P. Koopmeiners and Troy Parrott among their front line.
History complicates the build-up. AZ have won each of their last six trips to Deventer, a run that speaks to a pattern of dominance in this matchup. At the same time, AZ's away results elsewhere have been poor of late: they have lost each of their last three league away matches and lost five of their last six away fixtures overall. That tension — a run of wins in Deventer set against a broader slump on the road — is the clearest contradiction both teams must reconcile on Thursday.
For Go Ahead the picture is mixed. Their recent league form is uneven, but the two explosive home victories underline their capacity to score and to do so decisively when the squad is healthy. Still, those wins came against NAC Breda and PEC Zwolle; Go Ahead remain eight points shy of the last European spot, so Deventer is an opportunity to cut into that deficit if they can take points from a side that has recent cup and European momentum.
AZ's itinerary will be watched closely. The club leaves Deventer on the back of a cup triumph and a Conference League program that has required squad management; the 5-1 cup final victory and Parrott's stoppage-time winner are undeniable momentum builders. But the wider away form — three straight league losses away and five defeats in six away matches — means AZ must show they can translate cup confidence into Eredivisie consistency on the road.
The match will come down to a small set of clear matchups: whether Parrott can find the net again and whether AZ's defense can arrest the kind of high-scoring bursts Go Ahead produced at home this spring. Select will carry the fixture, and the projected lineups suggest managers on both sides will trust experienced forwards and central midfielders to impose the game's shape from the first whistle.
The single question that matters most after the kickoff is simple and sharply framed by the facts: will Troy Parrott score for a fourth straight meeting between these teams? If he does, AZ's historically strong record in Deventer and their cup form make them the likelier side to leave with points; if he does not, Go Ahead's recent home ruthlessness and AZ's recent away struggles leave the hosts with a real chance to pull closer to Europe and to rewrite the local history in Deventer.
