AZ Alkmaar
Champions League
2nd Qualifying Round
Wed , Aug 26 , 2020 16:30
3 - 1
Viktoria Plzeň
AZ Alkmaar
Viktoria Plzeň
3 - 1
On Wednesday AZ Alkmaar will host FC Viktoria Plzen at the AFAS Stadion in the 2nd qualifying round for the Group stage of the Champions League.
AZ Alkmaar takes on Plzen in a very strong Champions League qualifier match. AZ was level on points with champions Ajax when the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and they got a chance to represent the Netherlands in the UCL qualifiers. Last season, AZ Alkmaar's Europa League journey ended in the first round of the knockout phase, they were defeated by LASK 3-1 on aggregate. AZ also participated in Champions League last season but failed to beat Olympiakos Piraeus in the 2nd qualifying round. The preseason games showed their will to play with very strong rivals and in such conditions defeats with teams like Genk or Monaco didn’t hurt.
They had a very good 2-1 win against Lille but their problems are bigger off the pitch. Team coach Arne Slot has several young and talented players and for example, Ronald Koeman as a new Barcelona boss wants to sign their winger Calvin Stengs. Manchester United is very interested in the 22-year old Dutch midfielder Teun Koopmeiners who is already captain of the club. He possesses an excellent passing range, and is extremely intelligent in defensive situations and could be a great prospect to play in a bigger club as anchoring midfielder. If there is real interest in them, that could be a distraction for young players. In the final preparation in a game with Telstar that ended 1-1, they played without Stengs due to muscle injury, lacked the creativity to break through the rigid defense of the rivals. Attacking midfielder is still doubtful for the duel with Plzen. The only goal came from the penalty of Teun Koopmeiners that prevented a defeat for the final 1-1.
Popular opinion is that this talented team gained so much self-confidence last year and have shown that they can deliver just that little bit more at important moments, and that gave them big hope and great expectations that they can do that again on Wednesday.
On the other side, Plzen has been impressive in pre-season, with the wins in all four warm-up games. They were victorious also at the start of their domestic league where they recorded a 3-1 home win vs Opava. Their win wasn’t easy and their coach Adrian Gula had to choose words after the game that was under big question due to coronavirus pandemic.
The second-placed team in the domestic league last season had to do a much better job in the next game to past through difficult rivals as Alkmaar. Gula told the media that effort must be better, minimum for twenty percent and that they are lacking self-confidence. News reports suggest that Plzen players must act faster in the possession and be sharper defensively. Viktoria players, staff, and members of the board will be in isolation to limit the risk of contamination, so they will have time to analyze the next rival.
Viktoria has a good European pedigree because they were in the group stages of the competition two seasons ago. Next year, their good season in the Czech Republic championship didn’t transfer to the UCL qualifiers because they lost 4-0 on aggregate to Olympiacos. In the Europa League, they lost in the 3rd qualifying round to Antwerp.
They didn’t have a busy transfer period and they will play on the card of good team chemistry from the last season. In the starting eleven against Opava, all the players were from the Czech Republic, they have built a system in which they know each other roles very well and they have a good mix of veteran players and youngsters.
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This will be a tough matchup of the teams with a very different style of play. AZ tries to play very attractively, with many transitions from defense to offense, trying to exploit their fast player and Viktoria is less creative but side with a tremendous work ethic. Preferable bet is both teams to score. The home side is closer to the final victory.
4-2-3-1
4-4-2
AZ Alkmaar
Viktoria Plzeň
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D
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19.10.2024. | AZ Alkmaar | VS | PSV | 1-2 |
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27.07.2024. | AZ Alkmaar | VS | Atalanta | 2-2 |
D
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W
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L
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24.10.2024. | Tottenham | VS | AZ Alkmaar | 1-0 |
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03.08.2024. | Stoke | VS | AZ Alkmaar | 0-1 |
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06.04.2024. | PSV | VS | AZ Alkmaar | 5-1 |
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D
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10.11.2024. | Viktoria Plzeň | VS | Bohemians 1905 | 2-0 |
W
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07.11.2024. | Viktoria Plzeň | VS | Real Sociedad | 2-1 |
W
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27.10.2024. | Viktoria Plzeň | VS | Sparta Praha | 1-0 |
W
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22.08.2024. | Viktoria Plzeň | VS | Hearts | 1-0 |
W
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02.10.2021. | Viktoria Plzeň | VS | Zlín | 2-1 |
W
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21.09.2021. | Viktoria Plzeň | VS | Příbram | 2-1 |
W
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18.09.2021. | Viktoria Plzeň | VS | České Budějovice | 2-1 |
W
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11.09.2021. | Viktoria Plzeň | VS | Sparta Praha | 3-2 |
W
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22.08.2021. | Viktoria Plzeň | VS | Karviná | 2-0 |
W
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08.08.2021. | Viktoria Plzeň | VS | Slovácko | 2-1 |
W
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03.11.2024. | Slovácko | VS | Viktoria Plzeň | 1-0 |
L
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24.10.2024. | PAOK | VS | Viktoria Plzeň | 2-2 |
D
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19.10.2024. | Baník Ostrava | VS | Viktoria Plzeň | 1-3 |
W
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29.08.2024. | Hearts | VS | Viktoria Plzeň | 0-1 |
W
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25.09.2021. | Pardubice | VS | Viktoria Plzeň | 0-1 |
W
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L
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01.08.2021. | Bohemians 1905 | VS | Viktoria Plzeň | 1-2 |
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Daniel Garcia is originally from Basque Country, and as a kid who grew up just a few streets from Mendizorrotza Stadium, the choice of Deportivo Alavés as his favourite club is more than obvious. Because of his studies, he moved to Madrid where he graduated in Sports Journalism. Daniel plays football on the weekends, but that does not stop him from watching all La Liga matches. He believes that the outcome of a match can be predicted if all the parameters are analyzed well, including form of the players and weather conditions. Currently he is living in Belgrade, and is in love with a Serbian girl who works as a journalist at one of the famous Sport Channels in Serbia.