Sparta Praha vs AZ Alkmaar Prediction

Form guide: goals at both ends

Sparta Praha have won 11 of their last 20 matches across all competitions, including a thumping 5-1 league win over Slovácko just before this international window. But their last two games in the Europa League brought a 1-0 away defeat at Olympiakos and a 1-1 home draw with Lillestrom, suggesting the step up to continental level has been tougher than domestic form implies.

Sparta Praha: 20 completed matches; AZ Alkmaar: 20 completed matches.

Sparta Praha

20 matches

Win

55% 11 / 20

Draw

10% 2 / 20

Loss

35% 7 / 20

Scored

43

Conceded

28

Difference

+15

AZ Alkmaar

20 matches

Win

60% 12 / 20

Draw

20% 4 / 20

Loss

20% 4 / 20

Scored

43

Conceded

22

Difference

+21

AZ Alkmaar have been the more consistent of the two, winning 12 of their last 20 games. Their most eye-catching result was a 4-0 away win over Ararat-Armenia in the Europa League, sandwiched between solid Eredivisie form, though they did lose 2-0 away at Feyenoord in between.

AZ's recent Europa League form looks sharper than Sparta's, who have stumbled in their last two continental outings.

Comparative Team Statistics: Sparta Praha vs AZ Alkmaar

Head-to-head: AZ have had the edge lately

These sides met twice earlier this year in the Europa Conference League, and AZ Alkmaar won both legs. They beat Sparta 4-0 away in March and followed it up with a 2-1 win on their own patch the week before.

That tie came in a different competition and a different season, so it shouldn't be read as a guarantee of anything here, but it does show AZ have had the better of recent meetings.

Early days in the league phase

Both clubs have played just two matches in this season's Europa League league phase. Sparta Praha sit 11th with four points from a win and a draw, while AZ Alkmaar are down in 20th with three points from a win and a defeat.

It's a tiny sample to judge anything meaningful from, and the table will shift a lot before this fixture comes around, but Sparta currently hold a slender edge in terms of league phase progress.

Sparta's attacking names to watch

The player data we have is limited to Sparta Praha's side. T. Guddal has scored twice in a single recent match, while M. Jurásek and A. Karabec have each chipped in an assist in their own outings.

Sparta Praha:

Best scorers:

T. Guddal - 2

Best assist providers:

M. Jurásek - 1

A. Karabec - 1

There's no equivalent breakdown for AZ Alkmaar here, so we can't compare the two squads' attacking threats directly from this alone.