Our prediction for this Europa League match:
AZ
Match Time & Date:
13/02/2025
21:00
Prediction: 1-1
Galatasaray
A place in the Europa League last 16 will be at stake when AZ Alkmaar and Galatasaray face each other in a highly-anticipated two-legged tie. The Cheese Farmers are on a three-game winning run in all competitions, but they face a tough challenge against the star-studded Turkish side. Both Jayden Addai and Denso Kasius are major doubts after the duo limped off with injuries in a 2-0 win over Zwolle, while goalkeeper Sam Westerveld remains in the recovery room.
Okan Buruk’s men, on the other hand, are on the right track to win the Turkish Super Lig trophy, but they have big ambitions for the Europa League knockout stages as well. Galatasaray look sharp up front and given AZ Alkmaar’s attacking potential at home, we believe that there is a big value in betting on both teams to score. Earlier in the process, the two sides played out a 1-1 draw at AFAS Stadion. January signing Alvaro Morata is widely expected to start, while all Yilmaz, Torreira, Muslera, and Bardakci are back from the domestic bans.
Highlighted Player (Kaan Ayhan):
The Turkish-German defender, who can also play as a defensive midfielder, started playing football in his hometown, Gelsenkirchen, for the Schalke 04 youth academy when he was only four years old, in 1999. He signed his first professional contract in January 2018, but had to wait for his debut for almost two years.
Ayhan substituted Adam Szalai in the 4-1 win against Augsburg, on 5th October 2013. His first goal for Die Königsblauen came on May 2014, in a 2-0 win against SC Freiburg. However, the 23-year-old had to look for regular game time elsewhere, so he joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a loan deal. Despite the fact that there was an option of a permanent signing of the Turkish player, Eintracht decided not to use it, since the price was too demanding.
After 17 years at Schalke, Kaan Ayhan joined Fortuna Dusseldorf on August 2016. Even though he played both for Turkey and Germany junior national teams, the center-back decided to pledge his allegiance to Turkey, recording his debut for the Turkish senior team on August 2016, under the famous Fatih Terim.
Highlighted Team (AZ):
AZ Alkmaar are a professional football club that play their home matches at AFAS Stadion. The venue was opened on 4 August, 2006 and the construction of the stadium cost €38 million. AFAS Stadion is able to hold 17 023 spectators.
The Cheeseheads were founded on 10 May, 1967 and they won their first trophy in 1981, finishing the season 12 points clear of Dutch giants Ajax. 18 years later AZ clinched their second Eredivisie trophy, with the team finishing the 2008/2009 campaign with 80 points, 11 clear of second-placed Twente. In 1981 the club made it to the UEFA Cup final, but English side Ipswich Town proved to be a big catch for the Dutch team.
AZ’s home kits are red and white and they wear black shirts when playing on the road. The likes of Shota Arveladze, Jozy Altidore, Ron Vlaar, Joris Mathijsen, Graziano Pelle, Simon Poulsen, Moussa Dembele and Sergio Romero are notable footballers who played for AZ in the past.
Fenerbahce 
Anderlecht
St Gilloise 
Ajax
Gent
Betis 
Porto
AS Roma 
Twente 
Bodo Glimt
Brighton
Chelsea
