AZ Alkmaar vs Zrinjski prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-11-29 17:45.
It’s hard to imagine that this meeting between AZ Alkmaar and Zrinjski Mostar will be more dramatic than the matchday-one fixture between these two teams, as the Dutch outfit went 3-0 up in the first half, only to incredibly concede four times after the break – the biggest comeback in a single UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) game. Since then, Pascal Jansen’s side have managed a first win in Group E, but after two damaging defeats to Aston Villa, last season’s UECL semi-finalists know that only victory might keep their dreams of progression alive.
AZ will still be eliminated whatever they do if Legia Warsaw claim at least a point in their later kick off at Villa, as they can’t overtake the English side anyway due to the H2H record. Jansen should at least feel confident that his men can hold up their end of the bargain on Thursday, given that since the UECL’s inception, they have won all but one of their eight group-stage matches (W7, D1) on home soil.
For Zrinjski, that memorable 4-3 triumph in their first-ever European group game has been the high point, with three subsequent losses in the competition meaning they too will bow out if they fail to emerge victorious at AFAS Stadion. Like their hosts, even a win may not be enough for them, but the Bosnian champions do head to the Netherlands in buoyant fashion after scoring eight times in the first two matches of Mario Ivanković’s caretaker reign.
And while demonstrating their powers of recovery against AZ in September, the Noblemen have scored the game’s first goal 14 times already this term, winning ten of those matches across 90 minutes (D2, L2). Whatever happens, expect entertainment, as only two of Zrinjski’s last ten matches have seen fewer than three goals.
Players to watch: Vangelis Pavlidis is set for the most prolific campaign of his career, with half of his 16 goals this season for AZ having come between the 45th and 60th minutes. Zrinjski’s leading marksman Nemanja Bilbija didn’t actually net in the history-making turnaround against AZ, but he has 17 goals to his name in 2023/24, including four in the two games under Ivanković so far.
Hot stat: Only one of AZ’s 20 matches this term has seen both teams score before half-time.