AZ v Tottenham

AZ vs Tottenham Preview

AZ Alkmaar were dealt a heavy and disappointing 3-1 defeat away from home at Heerenveen last weekend in the Dutch Eredivisie which put an end to a previously encouraging seven-game unbeaten sequence in all competitions, but AZ will return to the home surroundings of their AFAS Stadion for Thursday night's encounter with Premier League side Tottenham.

As for Tottenham, the north London outfit were not in action over the weekend but their last fixture resulted in a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Manchester City as Spurs' inconsistent streak in all competitions continued and it may be anyone's guess as to what is set to unfold in this 1st leg of this upcoming play-off in the Europa League.

AZ had previously picked up six wins within their preceding seven games prior to their defeat on the weekend at Heerenveen, as Maarten Martens' side had collected wins on home soil against the likes of PEC Zwolle and Fortuna Sittard in the Dutch Eredivisie along with a resounding 4-1 thrashing of Galatasaray in the Europa League.

The bigger picture shows AZ have been dealt just three defeats within their previous 22 games in all competitions which were against Sparta Rotterdam and Heerenveen in the domestic top flight along with a 4-3 loss away at Ferencvaros in the Europa League, whilst also picking up a total of 14 wins in the process.

Goals also look set to make an appearance here on Thursday evening as seven out of AZ's last 10 matches overall have resulted in both teams scoring.

Tottenham continue to produce a mixed bag of results across all competitions as Ange Postecoglou's side just cannot find that elusive formula where the north London side are able to put together any sort of unbeaten run.

Tottenham's last 10 matches only serve to further underline their inconsistent streak as Spurs have collected five wins but have also been handed five defeats as well, within their previous 10 matches overall in all competitions.

That said, Tottenham have won the last two ties in this season's Europa League on the trot as Postecoglou's side have claimed important wins against the likes of Hoffenheim and Elfsborg respectively which gives the London visitors a chance of getting something out of this upcoming encounter at the AFAS Stadion on Thursday night.

In fact, Tottenham have slipped to just one defeat in their eight matches played in the league phase of this competition while picking up five wins along the way.

In addition, goals may also be likely here on Thursday night for this 1st leg tie as five out of Tottenham's last 10 away games in all competitions have resulted with both teams scoring.

AZ v Tottenham Verdict

Both AZ and Tottenham have performed pretty well in this season's Europa League so both sides may well hit the back of the net in this one.

Therefore, our main bet will be BTTS Yes @ 1.50

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 3.60

Correct Score: 1-1 @ 7.00