Anderlecht VS AZ Alkmaar

Anderlecht VS AZ Alkmaar

Anderlecht and Alkmaar lock horn in this UEFA Conference League Play Offs quarter-finals clash at Lotto Park early Friday morning Beijing time. The hosts are a Belgian team. The visitors, on the other hand, came from the Nerherlands. The stakes are high as both teams have a genuine chance of winning this competition at this stage of it. Of, course, this is only the third-highest UEFA club competition - after the Champions League and the Europa League. However, realistically neither of the the two teas have a genuine chance of winning the Champions League - or even doing well there - against the very best teams in the world. Anderlecht are a traditional big club in Belgium but have been far from the level of their glory years in recent years. They are having a very disappointing season in the Belgian Jupiler League and are currently in the 9th place. They have grabbed just 46 points so far. They have netted the ball 45 times and have allowed 38 goals. Indeed, their offense has been much worse than I estimated in my in-depth preseason analysis. Let's not forget that Genk, who currently top the standings, have scored 71 goals in the Jupiler Pro League so far this season. Yes, the hosts would have deserved a little more points in terms of expected points (xPTS) but this does not change the fact that they have been disappointing..

We must not forget that overall the Dutch Eredivisie is a better league than the Belgian first tier. AZ Alkmaar are having a pretty strong season and are currenyl in 4th place with 54 points to their account. Their defense has worked very well but I would have expected a little more from them offensively.. They have netted the ball 53 times. I expect them to be pretty defensive here and rely on counter-attacks. They would have deserved a win in their most recent game but lost 0-1 at home. The vistors are narrow favorites even in Belgium!