AZ Alkmaar meet West Ham at AFAS Stadion in the second leg of their 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, AZ Alkmaar must win by at least two goals in order to qualify for a first-ever European final – although a 1-0 win would see the tie go to extra-time and potentially penalties.
West Ham meanwhile simply must avoid defeat in order to reach their first major European Final since 1975-76 European Cup Winners’ Cup – although they more recently won 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup Final.
Team News
Milos Kerkez will be available for AZ Alkmaar after he missed their first leg defeat due to suspension.
Dani de Wit (foot) and Jesper Karlsson (leg) also missed the first leg but are set to be available here, having returned in AZ’s 5-1 Eredivisie win against FC Emmen last weekend.
Sem Westerveld (knee) and Bruno Martins Indi (thigh) remain ruled out.
West Ham could welcome Vladimir Coufal (hamstring) and Michail Antonio (calf) back into contention, although he could rotate his squad after their league defeat at Brentford last weekend.
Gianluca Scamacca (knee) remains absent.
When is Kick-Off?
AZ Alkmaar host West Ham at AFAS Stadion on Thursday 18 May in a 9pm CET (8pm UK Time) kick-off, live on BT Sport 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- AZ Alkmaar lost their only previous meeting against West Ham, in which they suffered a 2-1 defeat in East London in the first leg last week.
- West Ham are playing away to AZ Alkmaar for the first time in all UEFA competitions.
- David Moyes’ Hammers have won just one of two previous away trips against Dutch opposition in all UEFA competitions (W1, L1).
- Three of AZ Alkmaar’s four knockout goals at home were scored by Vangelis Pavlidis (W2).
- Two of Michail Antonio’s seven Europa Conference League goals for West Ham this season were scored away from home.
Prediction
Despite having been outplayed at West Ham and conceded twice from a goal up, AZ Alkmaar certainly won’t be scared to mount a serious fight given their impressive home record with just three losses in all competitions this season.
Kerkez’s return at left-back meanwhile is a welcome return given his form this season for AZ who should hopefully be able to show more of their impressive attacking flair on home turf, yet it is crucial that they score the first goal here then kick on to chase the win.
West Ham meanwhile hold the advantage and although they were lacklustre in their defeat at Brentford with little quality across the pitch, Moyes did make seven changes so I do hope that gamble will pay off if they can reset and get on the front foot with the opening goal to ease any pressure.
Moyes’ Hammers also are in superb European form with 12 wins from 13 games in this season’s competition, in which they have scored in every match so hopefully they can keep that run going in front of a strong away following.
Given how tight this tie is currently, I do feel that AZ Alkmaar could once again come from behind to advance if they score first, otherwise West Ham could well be on their way to a first major European final of this century if are as clinical as they were in the first leg.
AZ though should score at least one goal given their home record but West Ham should have enough in them to snatch an away goal, which could be vital come full time especially if this finishes in a draw.
Prediction: AZ Alkmaar 1-1 West Ham
Result: AZ Alkmaar 0-1 West Ham (West Ham win 3-1 on aggregate!!)
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