Athletic Bilbao vs AZ Alkmaar

UEFA Europa League, KO: 8:00 PM, October 3, 2024, Estadio San Mames

Make sure you tune into the match between Athletic Bilbao and AZ Alkmaar as this match has the potential to steal the show on Thursday.

Athletic Bilbao will enter this match unbeaten in five straight games and having stolen a point from Roma with a late equalizer last week.

The Lions will be a tough nut to crack for anyone in this league, especially at home. Bilbao have turned Estadio San Mames into a fortress, suffering just one defeat in the last 12 months.

AZ Alkmaar started their Europa League march with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Elfsborg. And while the team has shown impressive attacking qualities this season, their defense conceded two goals on the only two shots on target last week.

They are capable of scoring a goal or even two, but that defense will be tested on Thursday when they face the Williams brothers.

How the bookmakers see it: Nobody beats Bilbao in Spain

Bookmakers give Athletic a clear advantage ahead of this match. Betano rates them at 7/10, while the visitors are now at 4/1. Alternatively, you can bet on the draw on 5/14.

Recent encounters: exciting history between them

Athletic Bilbao and AZ Alkmaar met in the group stage of the same tournament in 2015. Both matches were certified thrillers, with AZ winning 2-1 at home before stealing a point in the rematch via 2-2.

Players to watch: Williams scores, but which one

It remains to be seen if Ernesto Valverde plans to switch due to the busy schedule, but we expect to see all the star figures in the game.

Bilbao’s biggest problem this season is the lack of a top scorer. The team has scored thirteen goals in all competitions this season, and they have been scored by nine different players.

Inaki Williams has focused his attention on providing assists this season, so we would prefer to back his younger brother to put his name on the scoresheet.

Likely lineups

Athletic Bilbao: Agirrezabala, de Marcos, Nunez, Paredes, Lekue, Jauregizar, Gomez, Vesga, Williams, Remiro, Williams

AZ Alkmaar: Owusu-Oduro, Kasius, Penetra, Indi, Wolfe, Koopmeiners, Mijnans, Clasie, Lahdo, Parrott, van Bommel

Is there anything else that catches your eye?

With both teams not really relying on their defense for results, we expect a match full of goals and goals from both sides.

The Lions have only scored two clean sheets this season, while AZ have conceded six in the last four games. Usually we have to choose between BTTS and Over 2.5, but in this case we will even turn our attention to the combined market.

Furthermore, we support Bilbao to win this match, because AZ’s defense seems to be out of touch. A correct score in the 3-1/3-2 range is also worth a try.

This UEFA Europa League match between Athletic Bilbao and AZ Alkmaar will be played on October 3, 2024 and starts at 8:00 PM. View the best prediction of Athletic Bilbao – AZ Alkmaar from our tipsters below. You can also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.

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