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AZ Alkmaar will welcome Zrinjski to the AFAS Stadion for a UEFA Europa Conference League clash on Thursday.
The hosts are coming into the clash on the back of a comfortable 3-0 home win over FC Volendam in the Eredivisie on Sunday. Ruben van Bommel, Vangelis Pavlidis and Bruno Martins Indi all found the back of the net to inspire the victory.
Zrinjski, meanwhile, thrashed GOSK Gabela 5-1 away from home in the Bosnian Primijer Liga. Nemanja Bilbija, Tomislav Kis, Tarik Ramic and Franko Sabljic all scored for the visitors while Riad Suta scored a late consolation strike.
The Nobles will channel their focus to the continent, where their last game saw them suffer a 2-0 defeat away to Legia Warsaw. AZ fell to a 2-1 defeat away to Aston Villa.
The defeat left the Dutch outfit rooted to the bottom of Group E, level on three points with third-placed Zrinjski.
AZ Alkmaar vs Zrinjski Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Zrinjski claimed a dramatic 4-3 comeback home win in the reverse fixture in September.
- AZ have won seven and drawn one of their eight group-stage home games since the inception of the Conference League.
- Eight of Zrinjski's last 10 games across competitions have produced three goals or more.
- Nineteen of AZ's 20 games in all competitions this season have seen at least one side fail to score in the first half.
- AZ Alkmaar have kept a clean sheet in four of their last five home games in all competitions.
- Eight of AZ's last nine competitive games have seen more goals scored in the second half than the first.
AZ Alkmaar vs Zrinjski Prediction
AZ made it all the way to the semifinal of the Conference League last season but are on the verge of group-stage elimination this time around. Nevertheless, Pascal Jansen's side will be expected to win here despite not entirely having their qualification destiny in their hands.
Zrinjski had a day to remember in the reverse fixture. They incredibly came back from being three goals down at the break to claim a 4-3 win in what was their first-ever European game. Things have gone downhill since then but the Bosnian champions have rebounded with two wins under Mario Ivankovic's caretaker reign.
We are backing AZ to claim a comfortable win in addition to a clean sheet.
Prediction: AZ Alkmaar 3-0 Zrinjski
AZ Alkmaar vs Zrinjski Betting Tips
Tip 1 - AZ Alkmaar to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score: No
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 4 - AZ to score over 1.5 goals
Tip 5 - Highest scoring half: Second half
