AZ Alkmaar’s season officially gets underway on Wednesday when they face Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League second qualifying round. Kick-off at the AFAS Stadion is at 3.30 pm UK time.

Despite finishing on the same number of points as Ajax, AZ Alkmaar were awarded second spot in the abandoned Eredivisie campaign, due to their inferior goal difference.That means AZ now need to get through three qualifying rounds to reach the Champions League group stages. First up is a clash with Czech side Viktoria Plzen in Alkmaar on Wednesday.

Arne Slot has been unable to add any new signings to his squad yet, but has also not lost any key players, except for centre-back Stijn Wuytens. However, their pre-season form has been dreadful, winning only one of six games.Slot states their pre-season form is due to their choice of tougher opponents, “My players are getting closer and closer to their form. Wednesday should be our best match. We made a conscious decision not to play against amateur clubs, but under increased resistance.”

Viktoria Plzen qualified for the Champions League after finishing 2nd in the Czech First division. Their league campaign kicked off last Friday with a 3-1 win over Opava.The game is a one off clash and not two-legged. The winner will progress and the loser drop into the Europa League third qualifying round.

Alkmaar v Viktoria Plzen live streaming freeAZ – Victoria: prediction for the Champions League match (August 26, 2020)AZ and Victoria will meet in the Champions League qualification on August 26 – in the forecast, we have chosen the optimal bet. How many clubs will score?AZ was very good last season – after 26 rounds Arne Slot ‘s team was on the second line in the table, ahead of the third Feyenoord by six points. In the end, the championship was never finished and the “cheese farmers” got a ticket to the Champions League qualification.

AZ played its last official match at the beginning of March, but lately the team has been intensively preparing for the start of qualification – in the last test match the “cheese farmers” lost 0: 2 to “Monaco”.Victoria PlzenLast season Viktoria did not manage to impose Slavia’s fight for the title in the Czech championship – Adrian Guly ‘s team came second to the finish line. The final lag from Slavia was nine points, but the third Sparta managed to get ahead by as much as 16 points.

In the new season, Victoria managed to play only one match – in a difficult struggle, the vice-champion of the Czech Republic beat Opava 3: 1, having settled down in the first round on the fourth line in the table.StatisticsAZ has scored in each of his last 14 home games in all competitions.Victoria has scored fewer than two goals in only one of their last four games.Only in one of the last three away matches Victoria did not concede

Forecast
AZ has not played official matches since March and is immediately forced to start in the Champions League qualification, the task for the hosts today is not an easy one. Under the leadership of Slot, the “cheese farmers” are betting on the attack, last season they lost in performance only to the champion of the country “Ajax”, today they will probably try to take the opponent with the same weapon.

Considering that Victoria’s defense is not the most reliable, it is highly likely that the Czechs will have to win back one way or another, the team scores a lot and regularly, so there is every chance of seeing effective football.

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