AZ Alkmaar has been playing really fantastic this season and it doesn't look like they will stop playing like that anytime soon. Pascal Jansen, coach of Alkmaar, made a really good team out of this team. The coach relies on typical Dutch football, which means that the team plays very offensively and does not lose much time when the ball is won. Alkmaar play straightforward and technically clean, that's what makes this team so strong. They occupy first place in the Dutch league as well as first place in their group in the Conference League. The 2-1 victory over Ajax in the penultimate round of the domestic league greatly boosted their confidence for the rest of the season, and they transferred their excellent game from that match to the away game in Groningen, where they achieved a convincing 4-1 victory. Although they don't have their best striker Pavlidis, who has been injured for the last seven games, AZ continues to play brilliantly. What can make all the fans of this club happy is the return to the field of Jesper Karlsson, who was the best player of this team in the previous two seasons. Due to injury, he was absent from the field since July this year and returned to the team in the match against Groningen and immediately managed to score a goal. By winning this match, AZ would almost certainly secure a place in the next phase, and in that way they would be able to devote themselves to their obligations in the domestic championship as much as possible. Unbeaten in 13 consecutive home matches since May, AZ will back themselves to get the job done in front of their fans once again.

After a somewhat unexpected defeat at home against Dnipro by 3-1, Apollon's confidence is obviously shaken, as can be seen from the results achieved in the domestic league. After that match, they played two league games and both ended in a draw. In the last eight away games, they managed to record only one victory, and that is certainly not something to praise, and against AZ in such a mood, it is really hard to expect that they will manage to improve that performance. Second place in the group is definitely the goal for the guests, but after just one point from two games it will be anything but easy. Individually, the guests have greater disadvantages and internationally it was already evident in the qualification phase that the defense is not always solid. In the domestic league, this is quite good, only conceding three goals in five games, but comparing the quality of the Dutch and Cypriot leagues is really not possible. In my opinion, AZ Alkmaar is really a big favorite in this match and I expect them to win here and it would not be a surprise if they score two goals already in the first half.