AZ Alkmaar vs Juventus prediction, team news and preview

AZ Alkmaar vs Juventus: what the match decides

AZ Alkmaar host Juventus at the AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar on Thursday 5 November 2026 in matchday four of the Europa League league stage. Juventus are seventh in the 36-team table with 7 points from three games (two wins, one draw, goals 9-3). AZ are tenth with 6 points from three (two wins, one defeat, goals 6-2).

The table splits the sides by one position band. Juventus sit in the zone that leads straight to the round of 16, while AZ are in the band that goes through the play-offs. Benfica lead the standings on 9 points, so both teams are still within reach of the top places.

Our lean is a tight match with a slight edge to the visitors on league-phase form. The detail below explains why that edge is small.

AZ Alkmaar and Juventus recent form

AZ have won 2, drawn 1 and lost 2 of their last five (WDWLL), scoring 8 and conceding 6, or 1.6 and 1.2 per game. They kept one clean sheet and failed to score twice. Their latest run is two straight defeats without a goal, 0-2 at home to Twente and 0-1 away at Ajax, after a 4-0 win at Ararat-Armenia in Europe.

At home AZ have played two of those five, winning 2-1 against Hapoel Beer Sheva and losing 0-2 to Twente. That is 2 goals scored and 3 conceded, or 1.0 and 1.5 per game, without a clean sheet.

Juventus also have 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats from their last five (LDWLW), with 6 goals scored and 7 conceded, or 1.2 and 1.4 per game. They kept two clean sheets and failed to score twice. They arrive after a 2-0 home win over Napoli on 1 November, following a 0-2 defeat at Genoa.

Away from home they have won 2-0 at Lecce and lost 0-2 at Genoa in this sample. That is 1.0 scored and 1.0 conceded per game, with one clean sheet and no game where both sides scored.

AZ Alkmaar vs Juventus team news

AZ have five players listed as out: J. Hornkamp (injury), S. Resink (knee injury), K. Smit (injury), H. Verhulst (off the roster) and J. Zoet (inactive). No AZ player is listed as doubtful in our data.

Juventus have a much longer list. Out are Z. Celik (muscle injury), F. Conceicao (shoulder), N. Gonzalez (calf), K. Grabara (knee), M. Locatelli (knee), K. Thuram (knee) and K. Yildiz (foot). A. Milik is listed as inactive, and D. Rugani and E. Zhegrova are off the roster. W. McKennie is doubtful with a groin injury.

Ten absences for Juventus, including a goalkeeper, a midfielder and several attacking options, will limit how much the visitors can rotate. No line-ups are published yet; they are confirmed about an hour before kick-off.

Storylines for AZ Alkmaar and Juventus

For AZ, the question is how they respond to back-to-back domestic defeats in which they scored nothing. In Europe they have won two of three and conceded only two goals in the league stage, so the continental form is sound. A home win would lift them level with or past Juventus on points, depending on the other results.

Juventus have taken 7 points from three European games and scored 9 goals, the strongest attacking return of the two sides in this competition. Domestically their last five games have been uneven, with defeats to Lazio and Genoa either side of wins over Lecce and Napoli. Their 2-2 home draw with Rennes on 22 October is their only dropped points in the league stage.

The match also decides which of the two is better placed for a direct route to the last 16, where the table currently favours Juventus by a point and a position.

Where AZ Alkmaar vs Juventus will be decided

The first contrast is AZ's home scoring against Juventus's away defence. AZ score 1.0 goals per home game in our sample, while Juventus concede 1.0 per away game and kept a clean sheet in one of two. If AZ again fail to score, as they did against Twente and Ajax, the visitors only need one goal.

The second is Juventus's attack against a leaky AZ home record. AZ concede 1.5 per home game, but Juventus score only 1.0 per away game in the sample, and failed to score in one of those two trips. The European average of three goals a game for Juventus has not carried over to recent domestic away fixtures.

Squad depth is the third factor. With so many absences, Juventus may struggle to control the tempo for 90 minutes, while AZ's shorter list gives them more continuity. The side that keeps the game compact and avoids early errors should hold the advantage.

AZ Alkmaar vs Juventus head-to-head

No previous meetings between AZ Alkmaar and Juventus appear in our data, so there is no head-to-head record, goals per game figure or notable result to quote. This preview therefore rests on current form and the league-stage table.

AZ Alkmaar vs Juventus prediction

Our lean is a narrow Juventus result, with a draw a close second. The visitors hold the better league-stage record (7 points, goal difference +6 against +4) and kept two clean sheets in their last five. AZ's recent form is poor, with no goals in their last two games, and they have conceded 1.5 per game at home.

On goals, the lean is toward a low to moderate total. Juventus have scored and conceded only 2 goals each away from home in the sample, and neither away game saw both sides score. AZ have had three over 2.5 games in their last five, however, so the total is not a one-way call.

The injury picture could change this view. If McKennie is fit and Juventus's depleted squad copes, the visitors' edge grows. If AZ rediscover their form from the 4-0 win in Armenia, they can take at least a point at home. MATCH PULSE's three AI engines (GPT, Claude and Gemini) publish their independent analysis of the match before kick-off.

How to watch AZ Alkmaar vs Juventus

No official broadcasters are listed in our data for this match. Check the UEFA Europa League's official broadcast partner in your country and its official app for live coverage on Thursday 5 November 2026.

Kick-off is shown in your own time zone on this page, so you can plan around the local start.

We have not listed this competition's broadcasters yet. Check the competition's official broadcast partner in your country and its official app.

Only official rights holders are listed; availability can change. Watching through unofficial streams is unsafe and unfair to the clubs.

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