Sunderland vs AZ Alkmaar

Sunderland have won three of their six listed matches, including victories against Rennes in a friendly and Hull City in the League Cup. They were beaten in the Premier League by Ipswich and Arsenal, while their most recent league outings saw a win against Fulham and a draw with Brentford. Across these fixtures, C. Talbi, Enzo Le Fée, and Nilson Angulo each recorded one goal over the matches we hold player statistics for, while goalkeeper Robin Roefs recorded two saves. AZ Alkmaar remain undefeated across their six most recent Eredivisie fixtures, winning five of them and drawing with Willem II in their last match. Their scoring form has been prolific, with recent high-scoring wins against GO Ahead Eagles and Heerenveen. In the single match where we hold player statistics, Mateo Chávez provided two assists, while Ayoub Oufkir and Mexx Meerdink each scored a goal.

• Sunderland are without A. Browne, C. Talbi, and H. Diarra, three of the seven players reported out.
• AZ Alkmaar are without D. Kasius, H. Verhulst, and K. Smit, three of the four players reported out.
• AZ Alkmaar were dominant in their most recent match, recording 24 shots against 8 from their opponents.
• Sunderland's recent matches have seen them score three and concede two goals in the second half over the matches we hold flow data for.

AZ Alkmaar bring strong momentum into this contest, having avoided defeat in all six of their recent matches. While Sunderland have shown they can compete at home, they face a side that has been clinical in front of goal and recently recorded 24 shots in a single outing. Mateo Chávez, with his two assists over the listed matches, will be central to the visitors' threat, while Sunderland will need a strong performance from Granit Xhaka, their best-rated player over the listed matches, to contain them.

Our records do not contain head-to-head history or a league table for this fixture, leaving the relative standing of the two clubs in the competition unknown.