Ferencvaros vs AZ Prediction: Hosts to edge this contest

The first phase of the Uefa Europa League draws to a close on Thursday and Ferencvaros welcome AZ to Groupama Arena on matchday eight (20:00, TNT Sports 7). Both teams are currently primed to qualify for the play-offs of the knockout stage, but the visitors could end up advancing straight to the round of 16 with a victory here, and other results going their way.

There is a lot at stake in this contest, and it is shaping up to be a cracking affair in Hungary. Read on for my Ferencvaros vs AZ prediction, supported by the latest match odds and team news.

Ferencvaros vs AZ Odds

Ferencvaros are 7/5 (which has an implied probability of 41.7%) to come out on top on Thursday, and the hosts have won their last two clashes on home turf in Europe.

AZ have experienced two stalemates in the Europa League so far, and one of them came on away territory against Ludogorets, who have already been eliminated from this competition. The draw is available at 9/4 for this clash.

The Dutch outfit are yet to win on their travels and are subsequently 2/1 (33.3%) to come away with the three points in Hungary.

Barnabas Varga has netted five goals in the Europa League for the home team, and he is 7/4 to strike anytime on Thursday.

Football Odds

Team News

Former Premier League striker Robbie Keane takes charge of his first home game since replacing Pascal Jansen as head coach of Ferencvaros, in what is his third week in the role.

Talk about a huge game to introduce yourself to the home crowd. Goalkeeper Denes Dibusz was taken off after 33 minutes in last Thursday's defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt, and Adam Varga will be ready and waiting to step into the net against AZ if required.

Front man Barnabas Varga is the joint-top scorer in the Europa League with five goals, and he is set to lead the line for Fradi once again. He was supported in attack by Kady last week, and Keane could opt to stick with this duo on Thursday.

The Irishman may also consider restoring Matheus Saldanha and Eldar Civic to the lineup to aid Varga in the final third. The hosts have no fresh injury concerns coming into this game.

AZ were able to welcome back midfielder Kristijan Belic from injury in Sunday's home defeat to Sparta Rotterdam. He made a 14-minute cameo in the second half, and he could be in line to make another appearance from the bench on Thursday.

Head coach Maarten Martens might be without the services of Ibrahim Sadiq, Sam Westerveld and Ruben van Bommel in Hungary, with the latter having provided three goals in five games in the Europa League.

Should he be absent again, Martens will ask a lot of striker Troy Parrott (three goals, one assist), Kees Smit and Sven Mijans (two goals each) in an attacking capacity against Ferencvaros. Ex-Southampton man Jordy Clasie and Peer Koopmeiners, the younger brother of Juventus star Teun, should maintain their places in the engine room.

AZ to win @ 2/1

De Kaasboeren are yet to prevail on away territory but you can forgive them for losing at Athletic Club and Tottenham Hotspur (yes, even them) because they operate in superior leagues.

With a place in the top eight a possibility here, they will be desperate to prevail against FTC on Thursday. Keane's reign at the Hungarian club is still in its infancy but they are yet to win in three matches across all competitions under his stewardship, which also included a defeat inside this stadium.

AZ head here with a lot more structure and they secured an impressive victory over Italian giants Roma in Alkmaar last week, to put them in this strong position. They will look to capitalise against Ferencvaros, who have already lost four matches in the league phase.

I think this could be a very interesting contest as both teams need to win to get what they want. AZ must take the three points, and are in need of other fixtures going in their favour for them to go straight through to the round of 16, while Ferencvaros require a victory to cement their place in the top 24.

The visitors have shown their quality at various stages of this competition thus far, and I think they will step up here to give themselves their best chance of going straight into the last 16 draw, but at the very least they can secure a favourable play-off tie.

Bet Builder - Barnabas Varga and Troy Parrott anytime goalscorers @ 6/1

With a lot riding on this match, I think both sets of attackers are going to be very busy inside the Groupama Arena. The hosts boast the competition's joint-leading marksman in Varga, with three of his five strikes coming on home turf.

For the visitors, they have Parrott, who was their match-winning hero last week against Roma. He has three goals for himself in Europe and he will bring AZ's biggest attacking threat here.

Both have been impressive in the league phase, and I think the 6/1 price for them both to get on the scoresheet here is too good to ignore given the high stakes of this fixture.

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