AZ Alkmaar vs Aston Villa: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Group E encounter, AZ Alkmaar ready to host The Villans

An interesting battle in the UEFA Europa Conference League from Group E. With two matchdays behind us, a unique sight sees all four teams still level in terms of points and goal difference. AZ Alkmaar kickstarted their UECL run against Bosnia and Herzegovina side HŠK Zrinjski Mostar. The thriller ended as a 4-3 defeat to Alkmaar. De Kaasboeren however did win their last UECL home tie against Legia Warszawa by 1-0.

Premier League matchday 9 saw Aston Vila run riots at Villa Park. A 4-1 thumping of West Ham should give Unai Emery's side good momentum for this UECL encounter. Till now The Villans have recorded a defeat and win. Their opener was an away game to face Legia Warszawa. Aston Villa ended up on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller. The second one against Zrinjski saw them put three points on the table.

Kick-Off:

Thursday, 26 October 2023 at 5:45 PM BST (10:15 PM IST)

Location: AFAS Stadion

Form

AZ Alkmaar (in all competitions): W-W-W-W-D

Aston Villa (in all competitions): W-D-W-W-L

Players to Watch

Vangelis Pavlidis  (AZ Alkmaar)

The Greek centre-forward netted against Legia Warszawa by the 52 minutes on the clock. His goal was enough to seal all three points for AZ Alkmaar. In the 4-3 defeat to Zrinjski, Vangelis Pavlidis was involved in one of the goals his side scored. It was an assist. Aston Villa might struggle against Pavlidis. The player scored a hat trick against SC Heerenveen last game in Eredivisie.

Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)

Unai Emery hasn't given the Brazilian a start yet in UECL. He has had 2 substitute appearances. While in PL, Luiz has started each of the games. Emery might wanna unleash him against De Kaasboeren as he does in PL. That is from the start. Douglas Luiz scored twice in the 4-1 home win against West Ham. Spirits should be very high as Luiz is in fine form. He hasn't scored yet in the group stage but did net one in the UECL qualifiers.

Match Facts

• Both sides are going into this UECL matchday 3 fixture with a domestic league game win and three goals or more scored
• AZ Alkmaar currently sit second in Group E while Aston Villa are at the bottom due to the Dutch side's better goal-scored output
• In their UECL matchday 2 respective games, both of them won 1-0 to put three points on the table

Injury & Team News for AZ Alkmaar vs Aston Villa

AZ Alkmaar's Pascal Jansen will have to replace Mayckel Lahdo who started as a right winger last UECL game. Lahdo was handed a red card and will be suspended for this event. The injury list has full back Mees de Wit and goalkeeper Sem Westerveld.

Unai Emery's side Aston Villa are dealing well without two of their key players. Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia have no chance of being on the team sheet. Both have injuries that will keep them away for quite a while. Not long-term absentees but Jacob Ramsey and Alex Moreno should also be not match fit at least for this one.

Head to Head

This UECL game will be the first-ever meeting of AZ Alkmaar and Aston Villa.

Predicted Lineup

AZ Alkmaar predicted lineup (4-2-3-1):

Ryan (GK); Sugawara, Bazoer, Penetra, Wolfe; Mijnans, Clasie; Dantas, Dani de Wit, van Brederode; Pavlidis,

Aston Villa predicted lineup (4-4-2):

Martinez (GK); Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; McGinn, Kamara, Luiz, Zaniolo; Diaby, Watkins

Match Prediction for AZ Alkmaar vs Aston Villa

The first-ever battle between AZ Alkmaar and Aston Villa will be played at AFAS Stadion. The Dutch side might have home crowd backing but Unai Emery's men should find a way to win.

Prediction: AZ Alkmaar 1-3 Aston Villa

Telecast

India – Sony Sports Network

UK – TNT Sports

US –  CBS, TUDN

Nigeria – Supersport

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