Europa League: Celtic vs. AZ Alkmaar Preview, Odds, Prediction

Celtic and AZ Alkmaar meet on Wednesday night in the Europa League qualifiers. Whoever wins this matchup will advance to the EL group stage, while the losers go to the UEFA Conference League. The stakes are solid and primarily financial because entering the EL brings more money from UEFA, plus the rivals in that competition are much more attractive. Plus, there is a matter of reputation because these two teams have a rich history, and beating the great rival would be a massive boost before the remainder of the year.

Preview

Celtic (+110) won the last four games, scoring at least three or more goals in all of them. It seems that the Hoops got very angry following elimination from the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, once the Danish representative, Midtjylland, advanced following extra-time in the second leg.

After that, Celtic lost one more game in the domestic championship, on the road against Hearts, 2-1, but then turned up the engine. One by one, the Scottish powerhouse rolled over their opponents, Jablonec 2-4 and 3-0, Dundee FC, 6-0, and at last, they would eliminate Hearts from the League Cup, 3-2.

Their previous seven matches all saw over 2.5 goals, and just two of them didn’t end with both teams netting.

AZ Alkmaar (+230) interrupted its four-match winning streak this Saturday, losing to RKC Waalwijk on the road, 1-0. It was the opener of the Dutch domestic championship, and may we say that nobody expected to see that.

Previously, AZ had a busy summer playing numerous club-friendly events, the majority of them against very solid opponents, such as RB Leipzig, Genk, Anderlecht, Panathinaikos, Real Sociedad, Torino, etc.

An interesting situation here is that all those games weren’t efficient as we expected. If you remember, the team from Alkmaar used to play very exciting and productive contests, and right now, just two of the past eight were with three or more goals.

Latest News

Christopher Julien won’t play against the Dutch side, while on the other side, the chances to see Ryan Christie are not promising as well. Odsonne Edouard will be 100% ready, and it seems that the injury he struggled with recently is long gone for him.

Apart from Owen Wijndal’s already long absence, all AZ’s players are ready.

Head to Head Games

There weren’t any official encounters between these two sides in the past, even though they have a rich background on the international stage.

Prediction

This is a perfect situation for betting on a high-efficiency, that is, 2.5 goals. Celtic will impose a high-paced tempo, regardless of the rival’s tactics. They are in excellent shape, with a boosted morale following several big wins provided by clinical execution. Profits for this pick are quite solid, -120.

The Hoops are the favorites here, and if you don’t like our suggestion from the previous paragraph, you can bet on their win. AZ is a bit shaken with a loss to RKC, and now have to face a team that knows how to use a home-field advantage, especially in the recent few weeks. The odds here are +110.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals -120
Celtics to win +110

 

Here is the preview for more UEFA Champions League games:

• Monaco vs. Shakhtar
• Benfica vs. PSV