UEFA Europa League - Tottenham Hotspur VS AZ Alkmaar Prediction
UEFA Europa League - Tottenham Hotspur VS AZ Alkmaar
Match Time:14-03-2025 04:00 Friday (GMT+8)
Football Livescore | Match Prediction & Tips
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Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham will be without Rodrigo Bentancur, as his yellow card in the first leg has triggered a one-match suspension. However, with Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall only named as substitutes in their Premier League match at the weekend, Ange Postecoglou has enough options to adjust his midfield.
Defensively, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero both returned from lengthy injuries over the weekend and are expected to start as the centre-back pairing for this crucial second leg. Their return is timely, especially with Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies both ruled out due to injury.
In attack, Dejan Kulusevski remains a significant miss for Spurs, as the Swede has been directly involved in 20 goals across all competitions this season. Richarlison, who scored the winning goal against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League league phase, is also unavailable due to injury, forcing Postecoglou to reshuffle his frontline.
Tottenham are expected to set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Guglielmo Vicario in goal. The back four will feature Pedro Porro at right-back, with Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero forming the central defensive duo, while Destiny Udogie will operate at left-back.
In midfield, Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, and James Maddison will look to control possession and dictate play, with Maddison’s creativity playing a key role in unlocking AZ Alkmaar’s defense.
Leading the attack, Brennan Johnson is expected to start on the right wing, with Dominic Solanke as the central striker and Son Heung-min operating from the left. This front three will carry the main goalscoring threat as Spurs attempt to overturn their 1-0 deficit from the first leg.
AZ Alkmaar
Alkmaar will be without Mayckel Lahdo, who was forced off after just ten minutes in the first leg, while his replacement, Denso Kasius, also had to be withdrawn just after the hour mark. Both players will miss the second leg, further depleting Maarten Martens’ options.
Adding to AZ’s injury woes, key midfield duo Sven Mijnans and Ruben van Bommel remain sidelined, depriving the Dutch side of two influential figures in their creative play. Young attacking prospects Jayden Addai and Mexx Meerdink are also unavailable, leaving AZ short of attacking depth as they aim to defend their slender 1-0 aggregate lead.
One player who will be relishing this clash is Troy Parrott, the former Tottenham striker who came through the club’s youth system. Having failed to score against his former club in two previous meetings this season, Parrott will be eager to leave his mark at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and help AZ pull off an historic upset in North London.
AZ Alkmaar are expected to deploy a 4-3-3 formation, with Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro starting in goal. The defensive line will consist of Seiya Maikuma at right-back, Wouter Goes and Alexandre Penetra as the centre-back pairing, and David Wolfe occupying the left-back role.
In midfield, Jordy Clasie will anchor the side, providing experience and composure in possession, while Zico Buurmeester and Peer Koopmeiners will support him in the central areas, aiming to disrupt Tottenham’s attacking rhythm and launch counterattacks.
Up front, Ernest Poku is expected to start on the right wing, with Troy Parrott leading the line as the central striker, and Ibrahim Sadiq taking up the left-wing role. This front three will be tasked with exploiting Tottenham’s defensive vulnerabilities and securing AZ’s passage to the Europa League quarter-finals.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Pedro Porro, Van de Ven, Romero, Udogie; Bergvall, Gray, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Owusu-Oduro; Maikuma, Goes, Penetra, Wolfe; Clasie, Buurmeester, Koopmeiners; Poku, Parrott, Sadiq
Tottenham Hotspur vs AZ Alkmaar Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
The first leg game between Tottenham and AZ last week was their second meeting this season. The two sides clashed in the league phase of the Europa League, with Spurs running out 1-0 winners thanks to a late penalty from Richarlison.
Tottenham stopped their losing streak at two this past weekend by drawing 2-2 with Bournemouth. However, the performance was still below-par, with Ange Postecoglou's men coming from 2-0 down to secure what looked like an unlikely point.
AZ have not played since their win over Spurs last Thursday and should come into this game well-rested. They've also won seven of their last ten games. In Europe, though, they have not won any of their five away matches this season, losing three of them.
Despite suffering an embarrassing 18 defeats this season, Tottenham have only been beaten by more than a single goal on two occasions, both to league leaders Liverpool. In a remarkable statistic on the other side of the coin, of their 20 wins, only eight have come by a single goal.
AZ Alkmaar's top scorer this season is former Tottenham striker Troy Parrott. The Irish international was unable to make his mark at Spurs, but has done well in the Netherlands, scoring 16 goals across all competitions this season.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 AZ Alkmaar
Spurs have been very good at home in Europe this season, barring a few nervy minutes at the end against Roma, scoring nine goals in their four league phase matches here, and the team will be under no illusions over how important this match is for their season. AZ have lost on all previous nine trips to England, and while they will certainly get chances in front of goal here, they will feel as though they missed a big opportunity not winning by more goals in the first leg, where they were largely dominant.
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