AZ Alkmaar take on the visitors Lazio in the second leg of UEFA Conference League 1/8-finals. The first leg result: 2-1. The match will be played on Thursday, February 16th at AFAS Stadion (Alkmaar).
Dutch AZ Alkmaar delighted their fans, surprised neutral viewers, and shocked the Italian public in the Rome match. Under the guidance of Pascal Jansen, they managed to beat local Lazio 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico. And you can't call this victory a fluke. Yes, the opponent, as expected of their status, looked better and had the advantage. But AZ made excellent use of their moments, taking a big step towards advancing in the tournament. The team's performance in the current season is impressive. Regardless of the results, AZ scored in each of the 25 rounds of the Eredivisie this season! And in five of the six matches in the group stage of the Conference League. They managed to upset Lazio twice in Rome. I think that with the support of their home fans, the representatives of the Netherlands will score at least one goal.
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For Lazio, not everything is lost yet, and 1-2, even in a home match, is not a sentence. The away goal rule does not apply. Win away by one goal - and go to extra time. Win by a larger margin - hello to the next playoff stage. Despite all the problems, the Romans, in terms of their squad and experience in international competition, still look stronger than their opponent and remain the favorites of the pair. Therefore, it is very logical to expect at least one goal from the Italians in this match. Yes, in the previous round of Serie A, Sarri's charges played a 0-0 draw with Bologna. But in the previous round, they beat Napoli, which practically does not know defeats this season. In the first match against AZ, the Romans were better in terms of xG: 1.43 versus 0.72 for their opponents. In the return leg, they need to fly forward and win. Personally, I have no doubts that the visitors will score at least one goal.
In the first match, these teams exchanged goals before halftime in Rome. I think this can easily be repeated in the return match. And there are almost no doubts that the bet on "both teams to score" will be successful again within 90 minutes. The Roman "eagles" have no time to sit back and defend, they need to score and win, and goals are necessary for victory. If AZ were a team from another European league, one could assume that the hosts would dry up and play for the score. But representatives of the Eredivisie don't know how to do that in principle. And when Lazio runs forward and starts to open up, it will be even easier for the hosts to score.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score – yes.
