One hurdle remains for Celtic in their quest for the Europa League qualifying rounds when they welcome Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar. The match schedules for Wednesday at Celtic Park, with kickoff at 9:45 pm.
The hosts easily breezed past Jablonec 7-2 on aggregate to reach the playoff round. On the other hand, AZ Alkmaar managed to qualify for this stage following a third-place finish in the 2020-21 Eredivisie season.
Ange Postecoglou’s men come off a hard-fought 3-2 win over Heart of Midlothian, whereas AZ Alkmaar comes off a disappointing 1-0 loss to RKC Waalwijk.
It was a difficult stage for Postecoglou to take the mantle for the Scottish champions who recently got dethroned by Rangers. Furthermore, failing to make the Champions League group stages seemed the last nail on the coffin.
However, the Bhoys head into Wednesday’s clash on the back of a four winning streak across all competitions. After getting dumped out from the Champions League to FC Midtjylland, the sides dust themselves off.
On the other hand, Az Alkmaar missed out on the spot in the Champions League by a whisker. It comes after finishing off third in the Eredivisie. A third consecutive group-stage appearance remains a major for the camp.
However, Pascal Jansen’s enjoyed a solid pre-season run with wins over OFI, Real Sociedad and Torino. However, their season started off disappointingly.
Celtic vs AZ Alkmaar Head to Head
Both sides are yet to face each other, and this marks their first encounter. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Celtic 3-2 Heart of Midlothian
- Celtic 3-0 FK Jablonec
- Dundee FC 0-6 Celtic
- FK Jablonec 4-2 Celtic
- Heart of Midlothian 2-1 Celtic
Away
- RKC Waalwijk 1-0 AZ Alkmaar
- AZ Alkmaar 2-1 Torino
- AZ Alkmaar 1-0 Real Sociedad
- OFI Crete 0-2 AZ Alkmaar
- AZ Alkmaar 3-0 Panathinaikos
Celtic Team News
Postecoglou will wait on a late fitness test to see whether midfielder Ryan Christie will pass after picking a knock. However, Liel Abada is not ready for a recall after missing out against Hearts of Midlothian and Jablonec.
AZ Alkmaar Team News
Left-back Owen Wijndal sets to miss out on the first leg after picking up a nursing problem. Therefore, Thijs Oosting will deputize him during the weekend. Highly attacking duo Myron Boadu and Calvin Stengs already made moves to Ligue 1 sides.
Prediction and Odds
It is too early to write off the opponents, given their third-place finish in the Eredivise.
- Celtic Win
- Goals Under 2.5
- No Score: Away