AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham Prediction and Analysis: The visitors have the upper hand.
The Europa League match between AZ Alkmaar and Tottenham will take place at 00:45 on March 7th. Nghe An Newspaper analyzes the teams' form, provides football commentary, and predicts the score.
Latest team news for AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham
AZ Alkmaar will be without their key attacking midfielder Sven Mijnans as he is still recovering from an Achilles tendon injury. Jayden Addai (ankle) is also unavailable, while the participation of Ruben van Bommel and Mexx Meerdink remains uncertain.
Zico Buurmeester, who scored in the match against Heerenveen last weekend, is likely to be tasked with playing in the number 10 position, replacing Mijnans. He will provide support just behind the central midfield pairing of Jordy Clasie (former Southampton player) and Peer Koopmeiners.
Up front, Troy Parrott – the former Tottenham striker – is currently AZ's top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions, including 4 in the Europa League. The 23-year-old Irish striker is almost certain to lead the Dutch team's attack.
On the Tottenham side, Dejan Kulusevski was found wearing a brace on his left leg and is expected to be out for at least a week. Radu Dragusin (anterior cruciate ligament rupture) will be out for an extended period, while Thursday's match may still be too soon for both Dominic Solanke (knee) and Richarlison (calf) to recover.
Tottenham will also be without Antonin Kinsky, Fraser Forster, Timo Werner, and Sergio Reguilon as they were not included in the Europa League squad. Manager Postecoglou revealed that Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero (both with thigh injuries) have a "small chance" of featuring after participating in training. Ben Davies will undergo a fitness check before the match.
Two new signings from the January transfer window, Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel, are likely to make their European debuts for Spurs. Mathys Tel could be deployed in attack alongside Son Heung-min, who has scored 7 goals in European cup knockout rounds for Tottenham, second only to Dimitar Berbatov (12 goals) in the 21st century.
Latest predicted lineups for AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham
AZ Alkmaar:
Owusu-Oduro; Maikuma, Goes, Penetra, De Wit; Clasie, Koopmeiners; Poku, Buurmeester, Lahdo; Parrott
Tottenham Hotspur:
Vicario; Spence, Gray, Danso, Udogie; Maddison, Bissouma, Sarr; Johnson, Tel, Son
Latest football match prediction: AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham
Tottenham have played 23 matches across all competitions since the start of December, suffering 11 defeats, including a 0-1 home loss to Manchester City in the Premier League last Wednesday.
Ange Postecoglou's team is facing the risk of failing to finish in the top 10, let alone compete for a European spot. Currently, Tottenham are 13th in the table, 9 points behind Aston Villa – who are 10th – 10 points behind the top 7 (a Europa League qualifying position) and 14 points behind the top 4 (Champions League qualification), with only 11 rounds remaining.
Having been eliminated early from both domestic cup competitions, Postecoglou is under immense pressure to lead Tottenham to victory in the Europa League. This is all the more important given his earlier statement at the start of the season that he always wins a trophy in his second year managing a team.
Nevertheless, the Australian strategist still believes that Tottenham have a chance to turn things around, not only in European competitions but also in the Premier League. The London team finished the Europa League group stage with two consecutive wins against Hoffenheim (3-2) and Elfsborg (3-0), and also defeated AZ Alkmaar 1-0 at home in the third matchday.
Tottenham have a rather impressive record against Dutch teams, winning 7 of their last 11 European Cup matches, drawing 2 and losing only 2. One of their most memorable victories against an Eredivisie representative was the 3-2 win away at Ajax in May 2019, which helped them reach the Champions League final. However, looking at their away knockout statistics, Spurs have only won 3 of their last 18 matches, drawing 5 and losing 10.
On the other side of the pitch, AZ Alkmaar are experiencing inconsistent form in their domestic league after overcoming Galatasaray in the Europa League play-off round with a 6-3 aggregate victory.
Following a narrow 1-0 victory over Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie, AZ secured their place in the KNVB Beker Final by defeating Hercules 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in 120 minutes. However, last weekend they suffered a 1-3 defeat away to Heerenveen, missing the opportunity to climb to third place – a spot that would qualify them for next season's Europa League. Currently, AZ are sixth in the table, three points behind the top three with 10 rounds remaining.
Before facing Tottenham, AZ will have to confront Ajax – a team competing for the Eredivisie title. However, their immediate focus will be entirely on the two legs of the Europa League Round of 16, especially since they have no domestic league fixtures this weekend. The Dutch side are aiming to reach the Europa League quarter-finals for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
Historically, AZ Alkmaar have only won 2 out of 19 matches against English teams. However, they have scored 19 goals in this season's Europa League, with only three teams scoring more. If they continue their strong attacking form, AZ could surpass the 20-goal mark in European competition for the first time since the 2006-07 season, when they finished the campaign with 26 goals.
Latest AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham score prediction
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenhamas follows:
- Sportsmole:AZ Alkmaar 1-2 Tottenham
- WhoScore:AZ Alkmaar 0-2 Tottenham
- Our newspaper predicts:AZ Alkmaar 1-2 Tottenham
When and where can I watch AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham live?
To watch the AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham match live in the Europa League, taking place at 00:45 on March 7th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.