AZ vs Roma Prediction: An exciting stalemate could be in store

A point separates AZ Alkmaar and Roma heading into their Uefa Europa League meeting on Thursday (17:45, TNT Sports 3), which is their penultimate fixture of the league phase. The hosts are unbeaten in their last three in the competition, while the Italian side haven't been beaten in their previous four appearances.

This feels like it could be a cracking game of football and below I have detailed my AZ vs Roma prediction, which is aided by the latest match odds and team news.

AZ vs Roma Odds

AZ Alkmaar have won two of their three home clashes in the Europa League so far, and they are 21/10, which has an implied probability of 32.3%, to win this fixture. This is tempting as they are unbeaten at home in this competition and Roma are yet to win on their travels.

The hosts have drawn two of their matches thus far, while the visitors have experienced three stalemates of their own. You can get a price of 13/5 (27.8%) for the two teams to share the spoils on Thursday.

Roma are 6/5 to come away with the three points, and I Giallorossi have won four of their last six games across all competitions.

Artem Dovbyk has struck twice in the Europa League for the visitors and travels to the Netherlands having scored two goals in as many games in Serie A. The Ukrainian leads the way in the anytime goalscorer market at 8/5.

Football Odds

Team News

AZ are likely to be without winger Ruben van Bommel, who is their top scorer in this competition with three goals, due to injury. The 20-year-old has missed his side's last two matches and is a huge doubt to feature on Thursday.

Boss Maarten Martens is also going to be missing another wide player in Ibrahim Sadiq, who is joined by long-term absentee Sem Westerveld in the treatment room. Other than that, De Kaasboeren have everyone else available for selection.

Republic of Ireland international and former Tottenham Hotspur man Troy Parrott is expected to lead the line, having recently been crowned the Eredivisie Player of the Month for December. The striker has one goal in Europe so far but he arrives into this clash with three in his last five league appearances.

Claudio Ranieri has had an impact since returning to manage Roma, and his group travel to AZ in high spirits. Attacking duo Dovbyk and Paulo Dybala are in good form, but Ranieri could be tempted to rest one or both of them here with one eye on a Serie A meeting with Udinese at the weekend.

This could tempt him to rotate his team slightly, so the likes of Eldor Shomorodov, Mario Hermoso and Tommaso Baldanzi will be primed for selection if needed on Thursday.

I Giallorossi have welcomed Lorenzo Pellegrini and Bryan Cristante back to training, so they have a full squad to choose from in the Netherlands. However, the midfield duo may not be rushed back immediately.

Draw @ 13/5

AZ's home form is too good to ignore. They're unbeaten at AFAS Stadion in the Europa League with two wins from three. De Kaasboeren have also won five of their nine contests here in Eredivisie.

However, there has been a clear upturn in form at Roma since Ranieri came back to the club, with the Italian outfit winning four of their last six matches in all competitions. So this also cannot be ignored heading into Thursday's affair.

I think this could end up being one of the standout games of the round because both teams still need to secure their places in the play-offs as a minimum, but there's also an opportunity for them to both make a late dash to finish in the top eight and automatically qualify for the round of 16.

There are impressive attackers on both sides but I would say Roma boast more in their ranks. However, they are yet to win on their travels in Europe and AZ have delivered their best performances at AFAS Stadion.

A win here would be huge for either team and I am expecting plenty of goal-mouth action, but I do think we will see the two sides cancel each other out. The draw seems a sensible selection.

Over 3.5 goals @ 2/1

Goals could be in abundance here given the attacking talents on display. AZ have played their best football at home and two of their appearances here have seen at least four goals scored, and they've netted three in both of them.

Roma's latest away trip in the Europa League saw them draw 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur, which was their only game in the league phase to produce over 3.5 goals. However, this has been a winning selection in their two latest outings in Serie A, and they have scored five goals across those two matches.

I think we could be in for a cracking contest in Alkmaar, and I'd suggest grabbing some popcorn.

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