Tottenham vs AZ Prediction: Parrott to score, Parrott to score

Tottenham Hotspur have made the ideal start to their 2024/25 Europa League campaign, beating Qarabag (3-0) and Ferencvaros (1-2) to sit third in the league phase heading into round three. The Lilywhites' next assignment in the competition arrives on Thursday (20:00, TNT Sports 1), when AZ Alkmaar provide the opposition at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Below you can find my Tottenham vs AZ prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, as these two clubs face off for the first time in history.

Team News

Neither Wilson Odobert nor Djed Spence have featured for Tottenham in October and the duo continue to miss out through injury this week.

The rest of the squad appears to be fit, with Richarlison making his comeback after eight games out in Saturday's 4-1 thrashing of West Ham United. The Brazilian will hope to earn his first start of the season on Thursday and his presence in attack could allow head coach Ange Postecoglou to rest England striker Dominic Solanke ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.

Timo Werner will also be in contention to start against AZ, with captain Son Heung-min ruled out.

James Maddison may keep his place in the starting XI after being hauled off at half-time on the weekend and if so, he will be joined in the midfield by the man who replaced him, Pape Matar Sarr, as well as Rodrigo Bentancur.

Other fringe players looking for starts are Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, with Gray likely to deputise at right-back for Pedro Porro, while Radu Dragusin is back from his European suspension and ready to fill in for Cristian Romero or Micky van de Ven.

Football Odds

There will be a familiar face on the away side as Troy Parrott makes his return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, just a few months after leaving Spurs permanently. The Republic of Ireland international joined the Lilywhites' youth set-up in 2017 and went on to make four senior appearances for the club, all in the 2019/20 season before he took in loan spells at Millwall, Ipswich Town, MK Dons, Preston North End and Excelsior.

The 22-year-old will be desperate to make a mark at his former home and he should get the chance from the start on Thursday.

Ibrahim Sadiq, however, looks likely to be absent after missing Saturday's 2-1 loss to PSV Eindhoven, as are Lequincio Zeefuik and Wouter Goes, while Lewis Schouten and Sen Westerveld are doubtful.

Tottenham vs AZ Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Tottenham vs AZ page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Tottenham are 4/9 to keep up their 100 per cent record in the Europa League this season, giving the hosts an implied win probability of 69.2%, while AZ are 11/2, or a 15.4% chance, to claim all three points in north London.

The draw, meanwhile, is priced at 4/1, with both teams to score and over 2.5 total goals at 8/13 and 4/9 respectively.

Richarlison (23/20) heads the anytime goalscorer market, while Parrott (9/4) is shortest priced for the visitors.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Tottenham & Yes @ 8/5

Tottenham completely collapsed at Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break, losing 3-2 after being two goals in front at half-time; so, there was little surprise that alarm bells were ringing around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday following Mohammed Kudus' 18th-minute strike, which put West Ham into the lead in north London.

Spurs responded before half-time through Dejan Kulusevski and went on to net three times in the second half to put the game beyond the Irons and hand themselves a nice confidence boost ahead of the visit of AZ on Thursday.

Confidence isn't coursing through the veins of the Dutch side, however, as Saturday's defeat to PSV made it four losses on the spin, one of which came on their last European outing in Bilbao when they were outclassed 2-0 by Athletic Club.

The Eredivisie outfit had made a terrific start to the season, winning five of their first six league games - drawing the other - and opening up their European campaign with a 3-2 win over Swedish side Elfsborg.

However, since losing 2-1 at home to Utrecht on September 29, it's all been downhill for AZ, and I struggle to see them ending their losing run on Thursday at a venue where Spurs are so strong.

Postecoglou's charges have won four of their five home games this term, only dropping points in a 1-0 defeat to rivals Arsenal, and stretching back to last season, they've won 14 of their last 19 matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Only Arsenal, Manchester City (both twice) and Wolverhampton Wanderers have managed to get the better of them in that time, and there hasn't been a stalemate at the ground since 2023.

Spurs are expected to make changes to their starting XI on Thursday, but I still think whatever side they put out will be good enough to beat AZ, though a clean sheet may evade them for the fourth game running.

Both teams to score has landed in seven of Spurs' matches this season and the north Londoners have won four of those contests, including their last European outing against Ferencvaros in Budapest.

Anytime Goalscorer - Troy Parrott (ALK) @ 23/10

Seeing as I'm backing AZ to score in N17, it's probably worth heading to the anytime goalscorer market to find some value in the visitors' line-up, and I think there is some to be had in backing Parrott to net on his return to the club that helped hone his craft.

The striker was once heralded as the next big thing at Tottenham but a series of loan spells in England failed to pay off before his career started to take flight in the Netherlands last season with Excelsior, and in the summer he made the decision to stay in the country and move to AZ.

Parrott failed to score in his first four appearances for De Kaasboeren but announced himself with a four-goal haul in AZ's 9-1 hammering of Heerenveen on September 14, and he followed those strikes up with a couple more before the end of the month.

One of those goals was in AZ's first Europa League game when he struck a winning penalty in the 74th minute to oust Elfsborg at the AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar.

He's only scored once since - in the next game, a 2-1 defeat to Utrecht - but continues to start up top and should get more minutes from the off on Thursday.

The motivation should certainly be there for Parrott as he looks to show Spurs what they're missing, and I think he's well worth a punt at 23/10 to find the net anytime.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.