AZ Alkmaar vs Celtic prediction for Thursday’s Europa League second leg final qualification round clash at AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar. AZ will try to overcome a 0-2 deficit suffered in Glasgow at the hands of Celtic in the first leg. You can follow our preview free prediction and betting tips on this page.
AZ Alkmaar must find their highest level to advance
Two games two defeats are what AZ Alkmaar was able to manage at the start of their new season. First, they lost in the Eredivisie to Waalwijk 1-0, then it was the all-important Europa League clash with Celtic. Moreover, the Dutch side couldn’t find the back of the net in those two games. That is something that coach Pascal Jansen needs to deal with as AZ need a three-goal margin win.
Despite the 2-0 scoreline, AZ weren’t very distant from scoring as they had seven goal attempts of which two were on target. As the case with Dutch football, Alkmaar slightly had more ball possession with 52%. But it wasn’t enough for Jansen’s boys to find the path to Celtic’s goal. The Dutch side need to be much better than they were in their first two games if they want to turn this tie around.
AZ Key Points
Celtic are one step away from the UEL group stage
A comfortable 2-0 win in the first leg will make Celtic the favorites to advance to the UEL group stage. Interestingly though, the Bhoys lost their last away match in the Champions League qualification game to Midtjylland. But since then Celtic are on a six-match winning run, all at Celtic Park.
Despite a relatively slow start to his first season with Celtic, coach Ante Postecoglou steadied the ship. On top of their current run of victories, the Bhoys scored 24 goals in those six games. That is an amazing four goals per game average. Also, on the other side of the field Postecoglou has made his team’s defense very tough to break. Notably Celtic conceded just four goals in the last six games.
Celtic key points
AZ Alkmaar vs Celtic Prediction
AZ Alkmaar left a lot of work to do for themselves in the second leg of this tie. The Dutch side could come back from Glasgow with at least a goal had they taken some of the chances. In addition, AZ had almost the same number of attacks as their opponents (77-81).
With the form that Celtic are in recently, it is very difficult to write them off in the tie. In fact, the Celts are flourishing under Postecoglou both offensively and defensively as we saw in their stats.
Obviously, the bookies are backing Celtic to qualify with odds of 1.13 at Vbet. However, AZ get their vote to win this match with an odds of 2.33. In any case, we think there will be many goals in this one. Thus we will back over 2.5 goals.
AZ Alkmaar vs Celtic Betting Tips
1 or x and Over 1.5 Goals 1.63 at Vbet
1 or 2 and BTTS Yes 2.02 at Vbet