Vitesse take on the visitors AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of Dutch Eredivisie Conference League playoffs final. The match will be played on Thursday, May 26th at GelreDome (Arnhem).
Vitesse have recently been run by a Russian oligarch, Valery Oif. That last season was really good for Hollywood on the Rhine. They moved up to 4th in the Eredivisie and played in the Dutch Cup Final. As a result, the team played decently in the debut Conference League, when, having started in qualification, they flew out only in March, losing to the future finalist, Roma. Moreover, having lost minimally in their native Arnhem, Thomas Lech's wards even won in the capital of Italy, but in the 90th minute Abraham scored 1-1. After that, Vitesse, not even playing particularly stable at the end of the draw, eventually managed to score 51 points, which brought 6th place. And with it the right to play the playoffs for the opportunity to start again in the Conference League. Everything could have ended in the first round, with Utrecht, but after 1-3 on the road, we managed to defeat the opponent at home. True, extra time was needed for this - Frederiksen scored the decisive goal already in the 93rd minute.
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AZ took a major step back in the regular season. The 2020/2021 draw ended with another "bronze". This allowed them to return to the Europa League, but there the first opponent, Celtic, knocked out the Dutch in qualifying. After that, the “cheese farmers” moved to the Conference League, but, having left the group there, the club was knocked out in March by the modest but daring Bodo/Glimt. In the Eredivisie, Pascal Jansen's wards finished only 5th, with 61 points. As a result, AZ continued to fight, already for the Conference League. Like Vitesse, the Cheese Farmers lost the first match to Heerenveen in the last round, but they were close to success there too - they led 2-1, but conceded twice, starting from the 90th minute. But at home it turned out to get a win – 2-0.
This season, AZ did better in head-to-heads. On the road there were 0-0, in Arnhem they managed to win 3-1. Vitesse have Oroz, Rasmussen, Gboo and Wittek in question. AZ is unlikely to be able to use Barasi and Veindal. Vitesse understands that they need to cling to victory in his field, but AZ are tough opponent. We recommend to look at the option with "both clubs to score"
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score – yes.
