AZ Alkmaar didn’t who anything impressive in Europa League group stage for now with the exception of their home victory over Athletic Bilbao 2:1 in the second round, but even so, the team still has a chance of clinching the knockout stage spot – however, to obtain the first two positions, they will need to get a victory against current Serbian champions Partizan that won over the Dutch side 3:2 in the first round.
After that victory and a defeat at home against Bilbao, the team suffered two defeats from Augsburg which puts them in quite delicate situation – they will need to get a victory here, but then only to look for another one, against Athetic Bilbao in Spain, something that at this moment seems even harder to do. On the other side, AZ Alkmaar didn’t start that well in the domestic league as well, with the team being for long near the relegation zone, but have improved in previous couple of weeks and now are at ninth position with eighteen points – only three points below the play-off placed sides. Defenders Van der Linden (11/0), Haps (11/0) and Lewis (1/0) will miss the game, as well as very experienced forward El Hamdaoui (3/1).
With two victories and two defeats, Partizan still has a chance of progressing to the next round, but most likely, they will need to get something out this game (victory) since the team awaits German side Augsburg in the last round, side that is slowly getting into the right form and with two consecutive victories in Europa League, they do show clear intention to try and play Europa League next Spring.
On the other side, Partizan is having one of the worst seasons in domestic league – at least for now, as the side has five defeats and with 8-5-5 record they stand only at fourth position, already twenty one point away from first placed Crvena zvezda. They even changed a coach during previous month, however it doesn’t seem that the new one, Ljubinko Drulovic, managed to improve something drastically around the club. One of the biggest problem for the team remains their defensive lineup, as the team has conceded 224 goals already in domestic league – more than they usually concede for the whole season. Guests continue to have problems at the back, as they can’t count at central defenders Balazic (10/1) and Ostojic (7/0), left full back Fabrizio (11/0), but also midfielders Stevanovic (8/2) and forward Trujic (8/2), all being sidelined.
AZ Alkmaar will need to attack in this one and search for a victory. I believe they are closer to get it, especially since we have seen plenty of defensive gaps in Partizan’s defense. However, the Serbian side also has some decent potential upfront and can’t be overwritten just like that. Over 2.5 goals seems to be much safer option.
Bet: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.80
