Tottenham vs AZ Alkmaar Prediction & Tips
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Tottenham Hotspur suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat at AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of their last-16 Europa League tie last week so they have plenty of work to do at home on Thursday if they want to make the quarter-finals. The Europa League last-16 second leg takes place at 20:00 on Thursday, March 13th.
Earlier this season, boss Ange Postecoglou boldly claimed he always delivers a trophy in his second campaign in charge, but if his side are to remain in contention for silverware they will have to be much better at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium than they were seven days ago.
Tottenham vs AZ Alkmaar Predictions
- Full Time Result: Tottenham Win
- Correct Score: 3-1
- Both Teams To Score: Yes
- Over 2.5 Goals: Yes
- First Goalscorer: Dominic Solanke
Tottenham vs AZ Alkmaar Tips
Tip 1
Solanke has had a solid first season at Spurs, although it has been disrupted by injury at times.
The England international has managed 11 goals in all competitions, including two in Europe, and he can get on the scoresheet against AZ.
Solanke returned from his knee injury to play the full 90 minutes against the Cherries on Sunday and he was close to scoring in the draw when attempting two shots in total in the game, of which one was on target.
Tip 2
Spurs have had another inconsistent season, mixing some outstanding performances and results with some woeful ones.
Last week’s 1-0 loss at AZ was not their worst display of the campaign, but it was certainly an untimely one and Postecoglou’s men now have a lot to do at home if they want to make the last eight in the Europa League.
However, they should be able to raise their levels sufficiently to turn the tie around at home.
Premier League Spurs certainly have more quality than opponents who sit sixth in a much weaker Eredivisie table, and the likes of Dominic Solanke, Heung-min Son and James Maddison should turn up on Thursday and inspire Tottenham to recover.
It could well be an exciting, end-to-end clash, though, and the visitors are backed to score in defeat as they have found the back of the net in each of their last 12 outings in all competitions.
AZ have had a free weekend to prepare for the second leg, while Spurs were held to a 2-2 draw by Bournemouth at home but they will be focused for Thursday’s meeting, which is arguably their biggest game of the season as they look to salvage something from what has been a frustrating campaign to date.
Tottenham Form, Team News & Predicted Line-Up
Tottenham finished fourth in the Europa League league phase, winning five of their eight games to avoid a play-off.
Spurs’ well-documented injury problems have eased of late, although Postecoglou remains without Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies, while Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended.
However, Solanke, Micky van den Ven and Cristian Romero are all now fit again.
Tottenham are way off the pace in the Premier League as they sit down in 13th place, 13 points off the top six and they are also out of the FA Cup so this competition remains their only hope of a trophy this season.
Tottenham Predicted XI: Vicario; Pedro Porro, Van de Ven, Romero, Udogie; Bergvall, Gray, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
AZ Alkmaar Form, Team News & Predicted Line-Up
AZ came 19th in the Europa League table, managing just three wins from their eight matches, to set up a play-off clash against Galatasaray, who they beat 6-3 on aggregate.
The Dutch side are in decent form, winning seven of their last nine matches in all competitions.
The visitors will be without several key men for the second leg, including Mayckel Lahdo, Denso Kasius, Sven Mijnans and Ruben van Bommel. Jayden Addai and Mexx Meerdink are also out injured but former Spurs youngster Troy Parrott is expected to start in attack.
AZ Alkmaar Predicted XI: Owusu-Oduro; Maikuma, Goes, Penetra, Wolfe; Clasie, Buurmeester, Koopmeiners; Poku, Parrott, Sadiq.
Tottenham vs AZ Alkmaar Head-to-Head Record
The two teams have met twice in the competition this season – and those games are their only meetings ever.
Tottenham won 1-0 at home in the League Phase when Richarlison scored the winner.
Last week’s last-16 first leg was settled in AZ’s favour thanks to Lucas Bergvall’s unfortunate own goal.
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