Europa League betting and spectator preview: AZ Alkmaar and Real Sociedad meet at AFAS Stadion to measure strength and learn who makes it to the next stage.
There’s little time for restitution or working hard at the training pitch these days, with both teams having played their last game less than four days ago.
It's time to recharge all electronic entertainment devices for Real Sociedad, who are travelling more than 1300 kilometers to play this game.
AZ Alkmaar form and stats
Last season, Alkmaar's Europa League journey ended in the 16th finals.2-2-0 (win-draw-lost) are the Eredivisie numbers at home for AZ Alkmaar so far this season. 2W-0D-1L is the hard facts regardless of venue in the Europa League for AZ Alkmaar. Alkmaar haven’t lost a league-game in eleven attempts regardless of arena, a great achievement. Their last loss was the fixture versus FC Twente, 285 days ago. Two home wins in a row for Alkmaar bring valid hopes of a third.
Alkmaar are confident in defense, having played 273 minutes without conceding a goal in the league.
The AZ Alkmaar supporters enjoyed the previous match, watching their team host FC Emmen in Eredivisie and win 1-0. In the game before, an away victory in the Eredivisie match versus SC Heerenveen with a 3-0 scoreline.
The manager A. Slot will start preparations for the next game as soon this is finished, as the hosts are going to Heracles in only three days.
The Alkmaar fans have had their share of opportunities to cheer home goals this season, having seen 7 goals in 4 league matches. From these home matches, Alkmaar have conceded only 3 goals.
Real Sociedad form and stats
Playing away, Real Sociedad have won 4 games, drawn 1 and suffered 0 defeats in the La Liga this season. The mentioned statistics is only from the league, looking at the Europa League stats, they have 2 wins, 0 draws and 1 loss both home and away. The away team travel with confidence. Not since the Getafe game have they lost an away game, meaning Sociedad has taken points from eight away matches in a row. Real Sociedad have been producing wins at home as well, producing a total of six victories in a row regardless of arena.
Did you know that the longest clean sheet streak is 1816 minutes? This record is held by Mazaropi when he played in Vasco da Gama. Real Sociedad goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya Rumbo is eager to challenge this, with his 193 minutes of keeping balls out from the net.
Sociedad play their second away game in a row, but can be confident going into this one after the 1-0 victory visiting Cadiz. A home win before that, celebrating 2-0 vs Granada.
After this away game Sociedad return home for a La Liga game against Villarreal. That game is only three sleeps after this.
The Sociedad manager I. Alguacil Barrenetxea has got the team scoring on the road, with 12 away goals in 5 league matches. Sociedad are tighter than a frog's bottom, as only 2 away goals have been conceded so far.
Head 2 Head
The most recent history between these sides is the Real Sociedad - AZ Alkmaar 1-0 played earlier this season.Top Goalscorers
  M. Oyarzabal Ugarte 6 goals |  C. Portugués Manzanera 4 goals |   D. de Wit 3 goals |
AZ Alkmaar missing players
Real Sociedad missing players
| AZ Alkmaar | Real Sociedad | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 14 | Played | P | 12 | 25 | ||
| 10 | 7 | Won | W | 6 | 11 | ||
| 7 | 4 | Drew | D | 3 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 3 | Lost | L | 3 | 8 | ||
| 40 | 25 | Scored | S | 18 | 35 | ||
| 31 | 14 | Conceded | C | 11 | 23 | ||
| 100% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 92% | ||
| 80% | 86% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 83% | 68% | ||
| 44% | 50% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 42% | 44% | ||
| 32% | 36% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 8% | 16% | ||
| 12% | 7% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 8% | 12% | ||
| 44% | 57% | BTTS | BTTS | 50% | 44% | ||
| 28% | 29% | Clean Sheets | C S | 33% | 36% | ||
| 28% | 14% | Failed to Score | F T | 17% | 28% | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1.6 | 1.6 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 2 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Red cards | R C | 1 | 2 | ||
| 278 | 166 | Total Shots | T S | 135 | 307 | ||
| 110 | 68 | Shots on Target | S O | 40 | 97 | ||
| 35% | 34% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 45% | 36% | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | AZ Alkmaar | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | Napoli | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Real Sociedad | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Rijeka | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -5 | 0 |
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Ajax | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 32 | 24 |
| 2 | Vitesse | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 22 |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 21 |
| 4 | PSV | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 20 |
| 5 | FC Twente | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 18 |
| 6 | SC Heerenveen | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 17 |
| 7 | AZ Alkmaar | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 14 |
| 8 | FC Groningen | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 14 |
| 9 | FC Utrecht | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 10 |
| 10 | Sparta Rotterdam | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -2 | 9 |
| 11 | PEC Zwolle | 9 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 | -5 | 8 |
| 12 | Willem II | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -8 | 8 |
| 13 | Heracles | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 16 | -9 | 8 |
| 14 | VVV-Venlo | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -14 | 8 |
| 15 | RKC Waalwijk | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | -10 | 6 |
| 16 | ADO Den Haag | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 17 | -18 | 4 |
| 17 | FC Emmen | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 11 | -11 | 3 |
| 18 | Fortuna Sittard | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | -13 | 3 |
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Real Sociedad | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 17 | 23 |
| 2 | Atletico Madrid | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 20 |
| 3 | Villarreal | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 19 |
| 4 | Real Madrid | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 17 |
| 5 | Cadiz | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | -3 | 14 |
| 6 | Granada | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | -4 | 14 |
| 7 | Sevilla | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| 8 | Valencia | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 12 |
| 9 | Elche | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | -1 | 12 |
| 10 | Getafe | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -1 | 12 |
| 11 | Real Betis | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 12 |
| 12 | Barcelona | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 11 |
| 13 | Osasuna | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 11 |
| 14 | Deportivo Alaves | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -3 | 10 |
| 15 | Eibar | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | -3 | 10 |
| 16 | Athletic Club | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -2 | 9 |
| 17 | Real Valladolid | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -5 | 9 |
| 18 | Levante | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -5 | 7 |
| 19 | Huesca | 10 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | -8 | 7 |
| 20 | Celta de Vigo | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 9 | -11 | 7 |