AZ Alkmaar vs. Galatasaray: Europa League Preview, Odds & Prediction

Turkish heavyweights Galatasaray are welcomed by Dutch team AZ Alkmaar to the AFAS Stadion for the opening leg of their Europa League playoff game on Thursday night.

The winner of this two-leg tournament will square Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16 next month.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

After gathering enough points in the newly formed League Phase to avoid elimination, AZ Alkmaar is bidding to advance beyond the intermediate stage in the Europa League for the first time in five years and compete in the knockout rounds of European competition for the first time.

AZ concluded the League Phase in 19th position with 11 points after winning three, drawing two, losing three of their eight matches, and squeezing into the playoffs by only one point, even though Ferencvaros came away on the wrong side of a fantastic 4-3 scoreline on matchday eight a fortnight ago.

With a 3-1 home victory over third-tier team Quick Boys in the KNVB Beker quarter-finals sandwiched between 2-0 Eredivisie triumphs over Willem II and PEC Zwolle, winning the latter at home on Sunday, the Cheese Farmers have subsequently won each of their previous three games on the domestic front.

Maarten Martens's side, who ascended to fourth in the Eredivisie table to increase their chances for Champions League qualification, has now turned their focus back to the Europa League and will re-establish ties with Galatasaray whom they drew 1-1 on home ground on League Phase in November last year.

Having lost only two of their past 35 home games across all competitions (W23 D10), AZ comes into Thursday's showdown, having lost three of their last seven games in front of their supporters in the knockout stages of major European competition (W2 D2).

Galatasaray advanced to the playoff round this term after scoring 13 points from their eight League Phase games (W3 D4 L1), having failed against Slavia Prague in the Europa League intermediate round the previous season.

After losing 2-1 away to Ajax a fortnight ago, the Turkish giants lost the opportunity to automatically qualify for the final 16. They must accept a 14th-ranked finish in the 36-team standings, ending only one point below the top eight.

After winning back-to-back matches against Gaziantep (1-0) and Boluspor (4-1) in the Turkish Super Lig and Turkish Cup, respectively, Galatasaray's top-flight encounter with basement club Adana Demirspor was abandoned in strange circumstances last weekend. Okan Buruk's side has now participated in three domestic fixtures.

After new signing Alvaro Morata converted from the penalty spot, Super Lig leaders Galatasaray established a 12th-minute lead; yet, immediately after the game started, the whole Adana Demirspor squad stormed off the field in protest at the spot kick being granted against them.

After their disturbed weekend, Buruk's side had to act quickly to go ahead in their Europa League match with AZ on Thursday. Galatasaray scored a League Phase competition-high 19 goals, two more than table-toppers Lazio (17). Still, they head to AFAS Stadion having failed to win any of their past six trips to the Netherlands, including two this season.

AZ Alkmaar vs. Galatasaray

While Kristijan Belic is banned for Thursday's game after collecting his third yellow card of the season on matchday eight, AZ Alkmaar pair Ruben van Bommel and Ibrahim Sadiq remain out with injury.

While Sven Mijnans scored twice against Ferencvaros last time out and is anticipated to stay in the number 10 position, either Jordy Clasie or Kees Smit, who scored against Galatasaray earlier this season, is slated to pair Peer Koopmeiners in center-midfield in Belic's absence.

With help given on the sides by Jayden Addai and Mayckel Lahdo, Troy Parrott, AZ's leading scorer this season with 16 goals in all competitions, is anticipated to lead the line once again—two goals from his past two Europa League games.

Regarding Galatasaray, Mauro Icardi, Yunus Akgun, and Ismail Jakobs, all three are ruled out with injury; Victor Osimhen, Davinson Sanchez, and Lucas Torreira are banned for the first leg for a cumulative of yellow cards.

New arrivals Galatasaray's Europa League team now has Morata and Carlos Cuesta, who are ready to start on Thursday; fellow new additions Ahmed Kutucu, Mario Lemina, and Przemyslaw Frankowski have been left out.

While Kerem Demirbay might be returned to start in central midfield with Gabriel Sara, midfielder Berkan Kutlu could once again be assigned to operate at either left back or left wing-back.

Our Predictions

Full-time draw @ 3.70 on Sky247.ng

While both sides have scored in four of AZ Alkmaar's previous five games in the League Phase, both teams have scored in all eight of Galatasaray's Europa League games this season; their games saw more goals than any other teams in the League Phase (35).

Since these two sides are eager to not lose and stay in the tie ahead of next week's second leg, we may see the spoils being shared once again at the AFAS Stadion. Goals at both ends are, therefore, predicted.

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