FC Vaduz vs AZ Alkmaar Match Analysis and Prediction

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AZ Alkmaar will be looking to secure their spot in the next round of this season’s Europe Conference League when they visit the Rheinpark Stadion on Thursday to face FC Vaduz.

Meanwhile, the hosts will be seeking to preserve their already faint chances of securing progress into the knockout round of this competition.

Vaduz saw their wait for a first Europa Conference League group-stage victory continue after they suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Dnipro-1 two Thursday’s ago.

They trailed to Yanis Hamache’s 25th-minute opener but managed to hit back through Elmin Rastoder five minutes later, only for Artem Dovbyk to grab a late winner on second-half stoppage time.

However, Alessandro Mangiarratti’s side have won two and drawn one of their subsequent three domestic matches and currently sit ninth in the Challenge League table, six points clear of relegation danger.

With clean sheets in their two most recent home matches heading into Thursday’s contest, Vaduz will be looking to put on another solid defensive display in front of their fans.

AZ Alkmaar saw their perfect Europa Conference League record come to an end on September 13 through a 1-0 defeat to Apollon Limassol at the Tsirion Stadium, with Valentin Roberge scoring the only goal of the game.

That was the first of three successive defeats for AZ, who have slipped down to fourth place in the Eredivisie table just a few weeks after leading the division.

The Cheeseheads will now be looking to get themselves back on track against a Vaduz side with revenge on the agenda following a 4-1 defeat in the reverse fixture at the AFAS Stadion.

Off the back of two defeats on the bounce away from home, Pascal Jansen’s side will be looking to rediscover their Midas touch on the road, where they recently won seven games in a row.

FC Vaduz vs AZ Alkmaar head to head

These two teams have previously met on just one occasion in the Europa Conference League on September 15, where AZ Alkmaar claimed a 4-1 home victory.

AZ 4-1 Vaduz 15/09/22

FC Vaduz latest home form

FC Vaduz have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just one of their five most recent matches. They drew 0-0 with Wil in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded four.

Vaduz 0-0 Apollon 08/09/22

Vaduz 0-2 Stade Lausann-Ouchy 01/10/22

Vaduz 1-2 Dnipro-1 13/10/22

Vaduz 4-0 Aarau 16/10/22

Vaduz 0-0 Wil 23/10/22

FC Vaduz latest away form

FC Vaduz have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their four most recent matches. They defeated Stade Lausanne-Ouchy 5-1 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 18 goals and conceded nine.

AZ 4-1 Vaduz 15/09/22

Eschen/Mauren III 0-8 Vaduz 20/09/22

Dnipro-1 2-2 Vaduz 06/10/22

FC Schaffhausen 2-2 Vaduz 09/10/22

Stade Lausanne-Ouchy 1-5 Vaduz 19/10/22

AZ Alkmaar latest home form

AZ Alkmaar were beaten 3-1 by Feyenoord in their last home game in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their previous 10 games. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded eight.

AZ 1-1 Twente 11/09/22

AZ 4-1 Vaduz 15/09/22

AZ 2-1 Ajax 18/09/22

AZ 3-2 Apollon 06/10/22

AZ 1-3 Feyenoord 16/10/22

AZ Alkmaar latest away form

AZ Alkmaar have recently seemed to be on a downturn in form on the road, having lost each of their two most recent matches. They lost 2-1 to Excelsior in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded five.

Dnipro-1 0-1 AZ 08/09/22

Groningen 1-4 AZ 01/10/22

Utrecht 1-2 AZ 09/10/22

Apollon 1-0 AZ 13/10/22

Excelsior 2-1 AZ 23/10/22

FC Vaduz news

Long-term Vaduz absentee Fuad Rahimi is yet to feature this season as the Kosovo international continues his spell out of action due to a damaged knee.

Defender Lars Traber is set to sit out a fifth successive game across all competititons since coming off injured in a 2-2 draw with Schaffhausen earlier this month.

AZ Alkmaar news

Bruno Martin-Indi remains unavailable for AZ Alkmaar due to a muscle injury, while Zinho Vanheusden will sit this one out through a foot problem.

The visitors will also take to the pitch without the services of Hakon Evjen and Vangelis Pavlidis, who are both yet to fully recover from ankle injuries.

Prediction and Odds

AZ Alkmaar head into the contest boasting a vastly superior squad on paper and will fancy themselves to translate that into something more meaningful in this competition.

We believe the visitors have enough quality to get the job done and we back them to edge out their hosts and take maximum points.

Odds: 1 3.15 X 2.12 2 1.78