Juventus visit AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday night, November 5, with kick-off at 8:00pm UK time. Our full preview, team news, predicted lineups and score prediction are below.
Match preview
Juventus and AZ Alkmaar are one point apart in the Europa League table and both are chasing automatic qualification for the last 16. Juve have started well, but AZ have a long unbeaten home record in UEFA competition.
Juve opened with a 5-0 home win over NEC, then beat Celta Vigo, with Nick Woltemade and Randal Kolo Muani both scoring, to move top of the table. A 2-2 home draw with Rennes left them seventh. Zeki Celik opened the scoring in that game and Woltemade equalised from the penalty spot after the hosts went 2-1 down.
Serie A has been a mixed bag since. Juve beat Lecce 2-0, lost by the same score at Genoa, then faced Napoli on Sunday with Luciano Spalletti’s job potentially on the line. He needed to beat the club he led to the Scudetto in 2023, and stunning strikes from Kerim Alajbegovic and Jeremie Boga got the job done. They had trailed by 11 points before that game, were below newly promoted Frosinone and sat just above city rivals Torino. In Europe, though, Juve have lost just one of their last 10 continental games and scored at least twice in eight, so they may welcome the change.
This is the clubs’ first competitive meeting. Juve are seventh on seven points, with AZ in 10th on six. The Dutch side lost their opener at Sunderland, then beat Hapoel Be’er Sheva at home and thrashed Ararat-Armenia 4-0 in Yerevan, with Brazilian winger Weslley Patati scoring twice. They have won 14 and lost none of their last 17 European home games, going back to a Conference League tie with Aston Villa three years ago.
Domestically, they have struggled like Juve. Leeroy Echteld’s side have taken one point from their last four Eredivisie games and are fifth. They lost 2-0 at Feyenoord, drew 2-2 with Cambuur, lost 2-0 at home to Twente and lost 1-0 at Ajax.
Team News
Juventus’s injury crisis continues. Celik and Nico Gonzalez recently joined Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram, Francisco Conceicao, Kamil Grabara and captain Manuel Locatelli on the sidelines. Weston McKennie, Juan Cabal and Alajbegovic all picked up knocks against Napoli, but are expected to play some part in Alkmaar. Jeff Ekhator has just returned, so there are few alternatives to Kolo Muani and Woltemade. Woltemade is joint-top scorer in this season’s competition with three goals.
AZ forwards Patati and Mexx Meerdink have two each and are likely to start in a front three. Ayoub Oufkir returns from a domestic suspension, and rising star Kees Smit should be back on the bench after injury. Club captain Peer Koopmeiners could face his big brother Teun, who scored 35 times in 116 AZ appearances and may play for Juve in midfield.
Probable Starting XI’s
AZ Alkmaar possible XI (4-2-3-1): De Busser; Dijkstra, Goes, Hoedt, De Wit; Kwakman, P. Koopmeiners; Patati, Stengs, Daal; Meerdink
Juventus possible XI (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Kalulu, Gatti, Bremer, Cambiaso; Luiz, Sarr; Kolo Muani, T. Koopmeiners, Alajbegovic; Woltemade
Prediction
AZ Alkmaar 1-1 Juventus
Juve have made little progress in Serie A since Spalletti arrived a year ago, but they remain a force at Europa League level. With a bit of luck they could even threaten AZ’s home streak, but a draw looks the most likely result.
