AZ Alkmaar v Hapoel Be’er Sheva: Europa League Prediction

On Thursday evening, AZ Alkmaar will be looking to secure their first win in the Europa League. Following their 0-1 defeat away at Sunderland, they now face a home match against Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Sheva. With the 0-2 defeat to Feyenoord still fresh in their minds, it is up to Leeroy Echteld to get his players back on track. Will they manage to keep the three points at the AFAS Stadium? We’ll tell you more about both teams and give you our AZ Alkmaar v Hapoel Be’er Sheva prediction.

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AZ Alkmaar v Hapoel Be’er Sheva preview

Can the third-placed team in the Dutch league beat the fourth-placed team in the Israeli Liga Heimat? We’ll give you a brief overview of both teams and then provide you with the best AZ Alkmaar v Hapoel Be’er Sheva betting tips!

Current Form & Team News

AZ Alkmaar

AZ Alkmaar have made an exceptionally strong start to the season. Until last weekend, the North Holland side were top of the Dutch Eredivisie and earlier this season beat PSV 4-0 in the Johan Cruijff Shield. However, things didn’t go quite so well against Feyenoord, which shows that they are still falling slightly short in the title race. At least, that’s the expectation. Will Mexx Meerdink manage to score his fourth goal in Europe? Or will it mainly be down to Ro-Zangelo Daal?

Hapoel Be’er Sheva

A glance at Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s squad suggests we’re in for quite a surprise on Thursday evening. They previously drew 0–0 with Dinamo Zagreb, picking up their first point in the process. Ran Kozuch’s squad consists entirely of Israeli footballers, with the odd Brazilian or African player here and there. Not to mention the Jamaican striker Javon East. The 31-year-old forward, who previously played for Deportivo Saprissa in Costa Rica, has scored three goals this season, making him the club’s top scorer. Is he the player who will give Wouter Goes and Lewis Schouten a run for their money?

Head-to-Head

AZ Alkmaar and Hapoel Be’er Sheva have never played each other before. Therefore, there is nothing to say about their previous encounters.

Expected line-ups

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

De Busser, Chavez, Schouten, Goes, Dijkstra, Koopmeiners, Clasie, Daal, Stengs, Oufkir, Meerdink

Hapoel Be’er Sheva (4-3-3):

Marciano, Amador, Miguel Vitor, Diop, Mizrahi, Kanaan, Lucas Ventura, Forson, Joao Victor, Zlatanovic, East

AZ Alkmaar v Hapoel Be’er Sheva betting tips

Betting tip 1: AZ Alkmaar to win with a -1 handicap

We see AZ Alkmaar as the clear favourites for this match. Not only do we think they’ll win, but we reckon they’ll do so by a margin of at least two goals. This leads to a 3-way handicap of -1 for the North Holland side, a bet you can place at the Oranje Palace Sportsbook at odds of 1.67.

Betting tip 2: Under 2.5 goals

A look at both teams’ most recent matches shows that there aren’t necessarily many goals being scored. In Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s last four competitive matches, there hasn’t been a single game with more than two goals. Interestingly, the same applies to AZ Alkmaar. That’s why we’re going for under 2.5 goals in this match. This gives you odds of 2.75.

Prediction: AZ Alkmaar v Hapoel Be’er Sheva

Final score: AZ Alkmaar 2–0 Hapoel Be’er Sheva
We reckon AZ Alkmaar will secure a narrow 2-0 victory. AZ Alkmaar have a stronger squad than their opponents, a side that doesn’t find it all that easy to score. As AZ Alkmaar need to win, we expect them to be the better side. What’s your prediction?