AZ vs Galatasaray Prediction: Eredivisie outfit can take a lead to Turkey

AZ Alkmaar and Galatasaray have already crossed paths in the Uefa Europa League this season, playing out a 1-1 draw in the Netherlands last November, but after finishing 19th and 14th respectively in the league phase and being paired against each other in the knockout phase play-offs, the two teams will go at it again this month, but over two legs.

The first leg takes place at AZ's AFAS Stadion on Thursday (20:00, TNT Sports 3), and ahead of the action, you can check out my AZ vs Galatasaray predictions below, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

AZ midfielder Kristijan Belic is suspended for Thursday's first leg after picking up a third yellow card of the competition in his side's 4-3 defeat to Ferencvaros in Hungary on January 30.

Goalkeeper Sem Westerveld will also be watching on from the stands as he continues his recovery from a knee injury, likewise forwards Ruben van Bommel and Ibrahim Sadiq (both unspecified).

Jayden Addai was taken off in the 12th minute of Sunday's 2-0 win over Zwolle and is an injury doubt for Thursday; Ernest Poku replaced the 19-year-old and is an obvious candidate to replace him in Maarten Martens' starting XI.

Football Odds

Galatasaray will be missing a whole host of first-team stars for their second visit of the season to Alkmaar. Ismail Jakobs (Achilles), Yunus Akgun and Mauro Icardi (both knee) are out injured, while Davinson Sanchez, Lucas Torreira and Victor Osimhen are all suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards in the competition.

Mid-season signings Alvaro Morata and Carlos Cuesta are available to make their European debuts for Gala after being added to the club's Europa League squad, but fellow new arrivals Mario Lemina, Jankat Yilmaz, Ahmed Kutucu and Przemyslaw Frankowski have been omitted as only a certain number of changes are allowed.

AZ vs Galatasaray Odds

AZ have won their last three games and are unbeaten at home in European competition this season, winning three of their four league phase games at AFAS Stadion. De Kaasboeren are 6/4 to beat Gala at the second attempt this term, implying a 40% chance of success, while their visitors are 8/5, or a 38.5% chance, to take a lead back to Turkey.

The draw is priced at 11/4, both teams to score at 2/5, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/9.

Former Tottenham Hotspur forward Troy Parrott has scored three Europa League goals this season, as well as 12 in the Eredivisie, and the Irishman is 13/10 favourite in the anytime goalscorer market, followed by Gala's AC Milan loanee Morata (6/4).

Match Result - AZ @ 6/4

Gala are three points clear at the top of the Turkish Super Lig having gone unbeaten in their first 21 league games this season, 18 of which they have won.

However, events haven't been as straightforward for them in Europe, as after a positive first half of the campaign, winning three of their first four league phase games, Okan Buruk's side have failed to triumph in any of their last four, losing last time out to Ajax (2-1) in Amsterdam.

Gala are yet to win on their travels in Europe this term, drawing their first three away matches to RFS (2-2), AZ (1-1) and Malmo (2-2) before that defeat in the Dutch capital on January 30.

They return to the Netherlands on Thursday, but this time without stars such as Osimhen, Torreira and Sanchez, in addition to others.

AZ have been strong at home in Europe this season, only dropping points to their next opponents, and in that November fixture, they took the lead in the second minute and held on until two minutes before half-time when Osimhen popped up with an equaliser.

At least six of Gala's starters that day won't be featuring on Thursday, handing an even greater advantage to the hosts.

The Turkish giants have added quality to their side in the winter transfer window, notably bringing in Morata, but I think they come up short this week and have to resurrect the tie back in Istanbul next Thursday.

Anytime Goalscorer - Sven Mijnans (AZ) @ 3/1

AZ midfielder Sven Mijnans opened the scoring inside two minutes the last time these sides met, one of three Europa League goals he has to his name this season; he bagged a brace against Ferencvaros last time out in the competition.

The 24-year-old has also struck four times in the Eredivisie and once in the KNVB Beker, meaning he is zeroing in on 10 for the campaign.

At 3/1, I think Mijnans is worth backing to inch closer to that landmark against a Gala side he has already scored past in 2024/25.

Thursday's visitors are impressive going forward but at the back, less so. Gala shipped 16 goals in eight league phase games, more than any other side in the top 28, and only four teams in the 36-team league conceded more times.

Offers

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