Ace Football previews the Europa League round 1 match between Sunderland and AZ Alkmaar and offers team news, stats and a free betting tip with the latest odds.
Sunderland start the season as favourites to land the Europa League crown. They launch their title bid this coming Wednesday at home in an opening day fixture with AZ Alkmaar at Stadium of Light.
Form: Sunderland vs AZ Alkmaar
Sunderland Form
Consistency has not been a trademark for Sunderland recently, and their last three matches first saw them sharing the points in a 1-1 draw with Brentford. This was followed by a 1-0 win against Hull, before they lost 0-2 against Arsenal.
AZ Alkmaar Form
AZ Alkmaar look well suited to take on any opponent presently, as their last three matches saw them gaining two victories and a draw. They ran out 5-2 and 2-3 winners against Go Ahead Eagles and SC Heerenveen, respectively. Their winning streak came to an end against Willem II, as the match resulted in a 1-1 draw. AZ Alkmaar are winless in their last six away games in the Europa League, in which they drew two and lost four. They conceded 14 goals while scoring eight themselves.
Betting stats for Sunderland and AZ Alkmaar
Here are some stats and facts that might be useful for betting on the upcoming match between Sunderland and AZ Alkmaar. The facts are based on the data from the last couple of matches that these teams played across all competitions.
- In 14 of the last 16 Sunderland home matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
- Sunderland have won the last 5 home matches in a row while scoring less than 2.5 goals
- In the last 8 Sunderland matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
- Sunderland have won the last 5 home matches in a row and the sum of goals was under 3.5
- Sunderland have won 5 of the last 7 matches while scoring less than 2.5 goals
- AZ Alkmaar have won the last 8 matches in a row while scoring more than 1.5 goals
- AZ Alkmaar have won 6 of the last 8 matches while scoring more than 2.5 goals
- AZ Alkmaar have won 6 of the last 8 matches and the sum of goals was over 3.5
- AZ Alkmaar have won the last 4 away matches in a row while scoring more than 1.5 goals
- In the last 4 AZ Alkmaar away matches in the Europa League, the sum of goals was over 3.5
In-form players: Sunderland vs AZ Alkmaar
It is the beginning of a new Europa League campaign, and both Sunderland and AZ Alkmaar will be looking for their main strikers this season. Accordingly, we have listed some of the in-form players who are expected to be getting it on for each team this season.
Popular markets: Sunderland vs AZ Alkmaar
Full-time result
Sunderland won six of the previous 10 home matches across all tournaments, while drawing one and losing three as well. AZ Alkmaar won five from a possible 10 away from home, as they also drew three and lost two in this run. Good luck taking on AZ Alkmaar currently, as they look back on an excellent streak of 19 games without defeat. AZ Alkmaar did not lose any of their last 7 matches away from home.
Both teams to score
Sunderland scored first in six of their last ten home games. Impressively, AZ Alkmaar scored the first goal in eight out of previous ten games. Sunderland managed four wins without conceding a goal in their previous 10 matches across all tournaments.
Total goals
Over 2.5 goals happened in three of Sunderland’s last ten matches across all tournaments. They pulled off an average of 1.1 goals during this run. In the last ten games for AZ Alkmaar, six of them had more than 2.5 goals, and they scored an average of 2.9 times goals per game themselves. AZ Alkmaar are on a nice streak of scoring at least once in their previous 15 matches.
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