Our prediction for this Europa League match:
AZ
Match Time & Date:
28/11/2024
18:45
Prediction: 2-2
Galatasaray
AZ Alkmaar will be aiming to build on a 2-1 win over Sparta Rotterdam when they face Galatsaray in the Europa League round 5. The Cheese Farmers defeated Fenerbahce 3-1 in their last Europa League game and they surely want to defeat yet another Turkish outfit in front of home fans. Defender David Moller Wolfe is back from suspension, while all Belic, Owusu-Oduro, Sadiq, Schouten, and Westerveld have been struggling with injuries of late.
Okan Buruk’s men, on the other hand, look unstoppable at the moment, with the team winning each of their last seven games in all competitions. As Galatasaray are likely to stick to their attacking style of play, we believe that there is a big value in betting on both teams to score. It has to be noted that the two clubs meet for the first time in the Europa League. Kaan Ayhan limped off with injury in the last league match, with Victor Nelsson likely to step up.
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.
Arsenal 
Ipswich 
Brighton
Brentford 
Lazio 
Atalanta 
Juventus 
Fiorentina 
Milan 
AS Roma
Sporting 
Benfica 
