Twente will be keen to make up for last week's missed opportunity as they could have gone top if they had beaten Ajax on home soil, but they fell to a 2-0 defeat to leave them in sixth place.

The Enschede outfit will be among the front-runners again should they overcome AZ, and McClaren is enjoying their impressive form.

"I always wanted to experience working abroad and am glad I have done so," said McClaren.

"I hope I have learned. That is what I am trying to prove in whatever I do. You want to do your best. I am experiencing a different culture, a different environment.

"If I am not (better than before) I want shooting again, considering all the lessons that should have been learned."

Twente, like Ajax, Heerenveen and Feyenoord, have little time to recover from Thursday night's UEFA Cup action.

Ajax will be wanting to build on their win last week - their fourth in succession - when they host lowly Sparta Rotterdam, but are still hampered by a lengthy injury list.

Maarten Stekelenburg (shoulder), Jan-Arie van der Heijden, Mitchell Donald, Ismail Aissati (all knee) and Dennis Gentenaar (back) are all sidelined, while Miralem Sulejmani (hamstring), Eyong Enoh and Dennis Rommedahl (both groin) have only just resumed light training.

Strugglers Feyenoord take on FC Utrecht, Heerenveen travel to ADO Den Haag, and fifth-placed FC Groningen play struggling FC Volendam, who last week registered their first win of the season against De Graafschap.

On Saturday PSV Eindhoven will want to make up for their 3-0 loss to Marseille in the Champions League when they face NEC Nijmegen.

The champions are fourth, one point off the summit, but were humiliated by the French side in midweek.

"We missed too many chances," said coach Huub Stevens. "We didn't reward ourselves. They scored easily and then it is hard to win a match."

Elsewhere on Saturday Heracles host Vitesse and Willem II play second-bottom Roda JC.

NAC Breda kick off the weekend's action on Friday night when they visit De Graafschap.