The Turkish Giants will welcome Dutch opposition to Turkey on Thursday night in their second encounter in a week.
Galatasaray will be keen on pleasing their fans. While they like to remain organised at the back, the hosts push forward and play well on the ball whenever they regain possession. They’re among the few European clubs who field a different shape when they lose the ball compared to when they have it.
BET BUILDER FOR THE GAME :
Galatasaray are the favourites to win later this week, and we expect them to do so. However, for the overall qualification into the next round of the tournament, it will be silly to think that Alkmaar do not have a shot.
They won the first leg of this match by a 4-1 scoreline and are placed in an extraordinary position to knock the Turkish giants out of this tournament. Galatasaray may win this event but fail to qualify for the round of sixteen stage of the competition.
Match Preview & H2H
Galatasaray had four shots on target in their last game, beating Rizespor 2-1 at Caykur Didi Stadyumu. This was a Super Lig match, with Victor Osimhen on the scoresheet.
AZ Alkmaar had eight shots on target in their last game, beating Galatasaray 4-1 at AFAS Stadion. This was a Europa League match, with Sven Mijnans, Troy Parrott, Jordy Clasie and David Moeller Wolfe on the scoresheet.
AZ triumphed in the most recent encounter between these teams. A 4-1 home win was recorded against Galatasaray. Galatasaray – Last 10 League Games
Galatasaray have 9 wins and 1 draw, averaging 2.4 goals from 6.8 shots on goal and 12.4 attempts. They have averaged 57.5% possession and 6.7 corners per game, with the opposition getting 1.0 goals from 3.3 shots on goal, 8.0 attempts and 4.4 corners.
AZ Alkmaar – Last 10 League Games
AZ Alkmaar have 7 victories, 1 defeat and 2 draws, with an average of 13.4 attempts, 4.7 shots on goal and 1.5 goals. They average 51.7% possession, 486.4 passes, 5.5 corners in their favour and 3.4 corners against, while 0.7 goals have been conceded from 2.8 shots on goal and 8.4 attempts.
Troy Parrott is the leading goalscorer with 5, Mayckel Lahdo has 3, with Sven Mijnans and Mexx Meerdink getting 2. Peer Koopmeiners is top assists provider with 4, while Rome Owusu-Oduro and Jeroen Zoet have collectively recorded 3 clean sheets in the previous 10 games.
History is not on Gala’s side: there have been 57 previous cases of a team losing the first leg of a Europa League knockout tie by three or more goals, and just one has progressed. Valencia did so against Basel in 2014 – losing 3-0, before winning 5-0 one week later.
After their previous Super Lig match was abruptly ended when the entire Adana Demirspor team walked off in protest, the Turkish champions – and current table toppers, beat Caykur Rizespor in a more conventional contest on Monday.
While, with 20 goals, Galatasaray are top scorers in the 2024-25 Europa League, AZ sit third in those rankings with only three fewer, so it could even turn into a spectacular shootout.
Including last week’s win, the Alkmaar club are on a four-match success streak, with victory in the KNVB Beker quarter-finals sandwiched between 2-0 top-flight defeats of Willem II and PEC Zwolle.
So, they will step into what is sure to be a warm welcome fully believing they can knock out one of the favourites.
