In the Eredivisie, two important duels for the international places will take place on the last matchday. Among them: Vangelis Pavlidis.
AZ Alkmaar secured an important 3-0 away win at NEC Nijmegen in the Eredivisie last Sunday with a commanding away performance.
The visitors were the dominant team and rewarded themselves with a brace from Jesper Karlsson (28th,50th) and the third goal of the season from Jordy Clasie (43rd). Double goal scorer Karlsson had more than earned the title of match winner, but also star striker Vangelis Pavlidis played a good game and set up all three goals. It was another strong performance by the 29-time Greek international.
With twelve goals and eight assists in 24 games, the Greek is his team’s top scorer and a guarantee for success this season. In addition to reaching the semi-finals of the Conference League (elimination against West Ham), the Dutch first division club can once again dream of international business in the league – also thanks to Pavlidis.
With one matchday to go, Alkmaar are in fourth place in the table, which would entitle them to qualify for the Conference League. However, third place is still possible. With a home win against second-placed PSV Eindhoven (28 May, 2.30pm) and a defeat for Ajax Amsterdam at fifth-placed Twente Entschede, AZ would climb to third place. That would give the two-time champions the chance to qualify for the Europa League via the qualifying round.
68 goals in 90 competitive matches
The tension is accordingly high ahead of the final Eredivisie matchday, when four of the top five teams meet in direct duels. Against Eindhoven, Alkmaar will again depend on the strong form of Pavlidis. In total, the 25-year-old has been directly involved in 68 goals (47 goals, 21 assists) in 90 matches for his club and is one of the best attackers in the league.
The 1.86-metre man is also no stranger to Germany, especially at Castroper Straße. In 2015, the centre forward moved to the youth department of VfL Bochum and played his way through all the teams from the U17s to the seniors. He was given a professional contract, but never made the breakthrough and was released in 2019 after only four competitive games…