AZ Alkmaar vs FC Astana – Prediction, Odds and Betting Tips – 24.10.2019
| After a run of nine straight competitive ‘home’ games where they conceded under 1.5 goals, AZ Alkmaar are hoping to recover quickly after conceding four times to Heerenveen. Encouragingly for them, AZ have conceded just a single goal in European home games this season, and remain unbeaten (W1, D3). |
| AZ are also unbeaten in three home encounters vs opposition from Kazakhstan in European competition (W2, D1). Two of those three games saw exactly two goals in the first half, most recently in last season’s UEFA Europa League (UEL) qualifiers, winning 2-1 with both teams scoring prior to the break. |
| Astana will likely struggle here, given that they have failed to score a single goal in three of their last five away matches in Europe (W1, D1, L3), scoring only against opposition with a lower UEFA coefficient than AZ. |
| Five of Astana’s last six European away defeats have come without reply, since a 3-1 defeat away to Villarreal in 2017. However, three of those defeats were by a 1-0 scoreline, whilst none of them saw a margin of three goals or more (1.83 total goals per-match on average). |
| Players to watch: With two goals and an assist, AZ penalty-taker Toon Koopmeiners has contributed to a goal in three of his side’s last four home matches. |
| Astana’s top-scorer in the league, Marin Tomasov (14 goals, 12 assists), has also scored seven goals in seven UEL appearances since the start of this season, qualifiers included. |
| Stat attack: AZ conceded three goals before half-time in their last game – as many as in their six matches prior! |
| However, AZ have kept a clean sheet in six of their nine home matches in all competitions this season. |
| Nine of Astana’s last 12 European matches saw at least one team fail to score. |
Europa League – Group Stage – Round 3
AZ Alkmaar vs FC Astana
Kick-off: October 24, 17:55
Prediction: Home Win
Odds: 1.38@BWIN
