Bodo/Glimt hold a slim advantage as they travel to AZ Alkmaar for their Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg clash. They will fancy their chances in the Netherlands as Alkmaar have looked slightly out of sorts in recent weeks.
Alkmaar would have been left disappointed after suffering a 2-1 defeat in last week’s first leg. They had looked to be heading for a draw following Zakaria Aboukhlal’s second half equaliser but conceded a penalty in injury time.
That result is a pointer to AZ Alkmaar’s recent form as they have suffered three defeats in their last four matches across all competitions. They head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 1-0 defeat to FC Twente in the Eredivisie last Sunday.
AZ Alkmaar have also found things difficult at home in recent weeks. Prior to the Twente defeat, Pascal Jansen’s men had also suffered a 2-0 Eredivisie home defeat to Ajax.
Bodo/Glimt have been one of the surprise teams of the Conference League this season as they finished top of a group that included Serie A giants Roma. They also did the double over Scottish side Celtic to book their place in the round of 16 of the competition.
The Norwegians also showed their quality in the first leg against Alkmaar as goals from Amahl Pellegrino and Ola Solbakken gave them a 2-1 victory. That result means they have now won their last six matches across all competitions.
Bodo/Glimt also have a fine record on their travels and have claimed three wins from their last four away matches. Among the wins for Kjetil Knutsen’s men in that run is a 3-1 victory at Celtic Park in the round of 32 playoffs.
How the bookies view it
AZ Alkmaar are considered favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 8/13 by Unibet. A victory for Bodo/Glimt is valued at 19/5 with SBK while a draw is set at odds of 16/5 with bet365.
Head to head
Last week’s fixture was the first ever meeting between AZ Alkmaar and Bodo/Glimt.
Players to watch
AZ Alkmaar will be banking on top scorer Evangelos Pavlidis to rediscover his scoring touch after failing to find the net in the first leg. The Greek striker has 10 Eredivisie goals this season and is priced at 11/10 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Thursday.
Ola Solbakken and Amahl Pellegrino have impressed in the Conference League with both men scoring two goals each in their last two matches. Bet365 has Solbakken at 9/2 to score anytime while also offering 3/1 on Pellegrino in the same market.
Anything else catch the eye?
It was an open contest in the reverse fixture with both teams getting on the score sheet and a repeat could be on the cards at 4/5 with William Hill. SBK is offering odds of 3/4 for over 2.5 goals while over 3.5 goals is valued at 9/5 by BetVictor.
Bodo/Glimt have opened the scoring in their last four matches, including the first leg against AZ Alkmaar and could be set for a repeat at 21/10 with bet365.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between AZ Alkmaar and Bodo/Glimt will be played on Mar 17, 2022 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best AZ Alkmaar vs Bodo/Glimt prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
