AZ Alkmaar and Viktoria Plzeň meet at AFAS Stadion, in a match for this phase of the UEFA Champions League (2nd Qualifying Round). These two teams have never met before, so this will be their first head-to-head match. In this game, the home factor may be decisive, since AZ Alkmaar presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor.
AZ Alkmaar :
The home team will make its debut in this edition of the UEFA Champions League with the intention of achieving a positive result, taking advantage of the home factor. This is a team that curiously tends to achieve more positive results as a visitor than at home, since in the last 30 games they have registered 9 victories, 1 draw and 5 defeats as a visitor, with 30 goals scored and 15 suffered; against 8 victories, 2 draws and 5 defeats in his stadium, with 25 goals scored and 14 suffered. The team comes to this match after a home loss against AS Monaco by (0‑2). In the last 10 matches played at home for all competitions, AZ Alkmaar won 4, tied 1 and lost 5. The team allowed goals to the opponent in 7 of the last 10 matches, so there are defensive processes that need to improve.
Az Alkmaar’s team comes to this match after a 0-2 loss to Monaco, adding their fourth loss in the last five games. It should be noted that the locals reach this phase of the Champions League after finishing in second place in the Dutch Championship. In this match against Viktoria Plzen, coach Arne Slot must keep the team at the usual 4-3-3, with Idrissi, Stengs and Boadu being the most offensive references for AZ Alkmaar. For this game the coach of the house cannot count on Druijf and Vlaar, players who are recovering from injury.
Viktoria Plzeň :
The visiting team plays its first match in this edition of the UEFA Champions League with the intention of achieving a positive result as a visitor. This is a team little affected by the home factor, that is, it presents similar results at home and away, since in the last 30 games it has registered 11 victories, 2 draws and 2 losses as a visitor, with 27 goals scored and 9 suffered; against 14 victories and 1 draw in his stadium, with 46 goals scored and 6 suffered. In the last match they played, for the Czech League, they beat Opava at home by (3‑1). In their last 10 away matches Viktoria Plzeň has 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses. The defense has been strong and has only conceded goals in 3 of the last 10 matches, and their offense has scored regularly as they have scored goals in 8 of the last 10 matches.
Viktoria Plzen comes to this match after a 3-1 home win over Opava, in a match for the first match of their country’s championship: the team’s goals were scored by Cermak, Bucha and Ba Loua. It should be noted that the visitors managed to finish in second place at the 2019/2020 Czech Republic Championship. In this game away from home, coach Adrian Gula must play with an eleven very similar to the one in the last game, at 4-3-3, with Tomas Chory being the one largely responsible for tormenting the local defensive line. All players are available for this game.
