AZ Alkmaar qualified for the UEFA Europa League (UEL) knockout phase play-offs after a 4-3 defeat to Ferencváros in their final league match. This marks their first appearance in the knockout stage of the competition since 2019/20. Despite the loss, they have been on a winning streak, securing victories in all three of their domestic matches with a two-goal margin. This gives them an advantage as they prepare to host Galatasaray. The two teams have already faced each other in a 1-1 draw during the league phase in November. AZ also had a 3-1 win against Galatasaray’s rivals Fenerbahçe at the AFAS Stadion earlier that same month. The Cheese Farmers have a good record against Turkish clubs at home in Europe, with 3 wins and 2 draws (W3, D2). Maarten Martens’ men have not lost in 16 consecutive UEL matches at home (W8, D8, including qualifiers). Only Manchester United (no losses) have a better record during the league phase than Galatasaray (W3, D4, L1). However, they cannot underestimate their opponents as their only loss in the league phase came against Dutch side Ajax (2-1).
Galatasaray has been in good form, scoring the most goals (19) during the competition’s league phase. They continued their goal-scoring streak with 5 goals in the following two completed games (W2) before their match against Adana Demirspor was abandoned with a 1-0 lead. This was not ideal preparation for head coach Okan Buruk as they have not won any of their last seven UEL away matches (D5, L2). A victory in the Netherlands would be a great achievement for the team as they have never won an away game against a Dutch team in European competition (D1, L5, including qualifiers).
Keep an eye on Sven Mijnans, who has scored three goals in AZ’s last four matches, with two of them coming after the 75th minute. For Galatasaray, Álvaro Morata has been in top form with 4 out of his last 5 competitive goals coming in the first 25 minutes, including a penalty in their abandoned match against Adana. Interestingly, both teams have scored in all of Galatasaray’s last 11 UEL games (W4, D4, L3).
