Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar welcome Turkish giants Galatasaray to the AFAS Stadion for the first leg of their Europa League playoff tie on Thursday night.
Whoever comes out on top in this two-legged contest will face either Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16 next month.
Match preview
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AZ Alkmaar are competing in the knockout rounds of European competition for the first time in five years and are bidding to progress beyond the intermediate stage in the Europa League for the first time since 2013-14 after accumulating enough points in the newly-formed League Phase to avoid elimination.
Despite coming away on the losing side of a thrilling 4-3 scoreline with Ferencvaros on matchday eight a fortnight ago, AZ ended the League Phase in 19th place with 11 points after winning three, drawing two and losing three of their eight matches, squeezing into the playoffs by just one point.
The Cheese Farmers have since won each of their last three games on the domestic front, with a 3-1 home win against third-tier outfit Quick Boys in the KNVB Beker quarter-finals sandwiched between 2-0 Eredivisie successes over Willem II and PEC Zwolle, beating the latter at home on Sunday.
Maarten Martens's side, who have climbed up to fourth in the Eredivisie table to boost their Champions League qualification hopes, have now turned their attention back to the Europa League and will renew acquaintances with Galatasaray whom they drew 1-1 with on home soil on matchday five of the League Phase in November last year.
AZ head into Thursday's contest having lost only two of their last 35 home matches across all competitions (W23 D10), but they have lost three of their last seven games in front of their own fans in the knockout rounds of major European competition (W2 D2).
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After coming up short against Slavia Prague in the intermediate stage of the Europa League last season, Galatasaray have progressed to the playoff round this term after collecting 13 points from their eight League Phase fixtures (W3 D4 L1).
The Turkish giants missed the chance to automatically qualify for the last 16 after suffering a 2-1 away defeat to Ajax a fortnight ago, forcing them to settle for a 14th-placed finish in the 36-team standings, finishing just one point behind the top eight.
Okan Buruk's side have since taken part in three domestic fixtures, but after winning back-to-back matches against Gaziantep (1-0) and Boluspor (4-1) in the Turkish Super Lig and Turkish Cup respectively, Galatasaray's top-flight encounter with basement club Adana Demirspor was abandoned in bizarre circumstances last weekend.
Super Lig leaders Galatasaray took a 12th-minute lead after new signing Alvaro Morata converted from the penalty spot, but shortly after the game resumed, the entire Adana Demirspor team walked off the pitch in protest at the spot kick being awarded against them.
Buruk's men must now swiftly move on from their disrupted weekend and will endeavour to gain an advantage in their Europa League tie with AZ on Thursday. Galatasaray scored a competition-high 19 goals in the League Phase, two more than table-toppers Lazio (17), but they travel to AFAS Stadion having failed to win any of their last six visits to the Netherlands, including two this season.
Team News
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AZ Alkmaar duo Ruben van Bommel and Ibrahim Sadiq remain sidelined with injuries, while Kristijan Belic is suspended for Thursday's match after picking up his third yellow card of the season on matchday eight.
In the absence of Belic, either Jordy Clasie or Kees Smit - who scored against Galatasaray earlier this season - is set to partner Peer Koopmeiners in centre-midfield, while Sven Mijnans scored twice against Ferencvaros last time out and is expected to continue in the number 10 role.
Troy Parrott is AZ's top scorer this season with 16 goals in all competitions, including two goals in his last two Europa League games, and he is expected to lead the line once again, with support provided on the flanks by Jayden Addai and Mayckel Lahdo.
As for Galatasaray, Mauro Icardi, Yunus Akgun and Ismail Jakobs are all ruled out with injuries, while Victor Osimhen, Davinson Sanchez and Lucas Torreira are all suspended for the first leg due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
New signings Morata and Carlos Cuesta have been added to Galatasaray's Europa League squad and are available to start on Thursday, but fellow new recruits Ahmed Kutucu, Mario Lemina and Przemyslaw Frankowski have been omitted.
Midfielder Berkan Kutlu could once again be tasked with operating at either left-back or left wing-back, while Kerem Demirbay could be recalled to start in centre-midfield alongside Gabriel Sara.
AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:
Owusu-Oduro; Kasius, Goes, Penetra, Wolfe; Clasie, Koopmeiners; Addai, Mijnans, Lahdo; Parrott
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Ayhan, Cuesta, Bardakci, Kutlu; Sara, Demirbay; Sallai, Mertens, Yilmaz; Morata
We say: AZ Alkmaar 1-1 Galatasaray
Both teams have scored in all eight of Galatasaray's Europa League fixtures this season, with their games seeing more goals than any other teams in the League Phase (35), while both sides have scored in four of AZ Alkmaar's last five matches in the competition.
Goals at both ends are therefore expected, but as these two teams are keen to not lose and remain in the tie ahead of next week's second leg, we can see the spoils being shared once again at the AFAS Stadion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
