AZ vs. Sparta Prague – News and Probable Lineups

AZ Alkmaar and Sparta Prague are set to battle for an advantage in the first leg of their Europa Conference League last-16 clash at the AFAS Stadion this Thursday evening.

The home team secured their spot in the knockout rounds by overcoming Armenia’s Noah in a playoff, having placed 14th in the league stage—10 positions below their opponents.

Match overview

Though AZ has had a rather disappointing league season thus far, their cup performances have stood out, as they continue to chase both domestic and European success.

Currently, they are positioned sixth in the Eredivisie with eight matches remaining, which puts them at risk of finishing outside the top five for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

Nevertheless, De Kaasboeren have advanced to the KNVB Beker final for the second consecutive time after their semi-final victory over Telstar last Wednesday, setting up a clash with NEC next month.

This cup victory was flanked by league losses to Utrecht and, most recently, PSV Eindhoven, leading AZ into their upcoming European fixture with just one win from their last three matches across all competitions.

The hosts will be looking for a repeat of their last European performance at home, where they convincingly beat Noah 4-0 to recover from a 1-0 first-leg deficit, making it three wins from four Conference League outings in front of their crowd this season, all while maintaining a clean sheet.

Along with Strasbourg, Rakow, and AEK Athens, Sparta Prague was one of only four teams to finish the Europa Conference League group stages with maximum points in each of their last three matches.

Consequently, Brian Priske’s team finished fourth in the group with 13 points, just three behind group leaders Strasbourg, demonstrating an impressive turnaround given that they only managed four points from their first three matches.

Since Priske’s return for his second tenure, he has achieved a 62.5% win rate across 40 games, but his squad now trails Slavia Prague by 10 points in the Czech First League after a 3-1 loss in Sunday’s Prague derby.

Prior to that, the Maroons were eliminated from the MOL Cup on penalties against Mlada Boleslav, which means the Conference League is now their most viable opportunity for silverware this season.

After winning their initial two competitive away fixtures of 2026, the visitors have failed to win in their last three, netting just once during that stretch. Sparta will need to rectify their recent away form to avoid heading back to the epet ARENA facing a significant deficit.

Team News

Jordy Clasie remains out due to an ankle injury that has kept him sidelined since September, and Mateo Chavez is expected to miss his sixth consecutive match due to a shoulder issue.

The hosts will also be without Japanese international Seiya Maikuma, which means Elijah Dijkstra will continue filling in at right-back.

Sven Mijnans’s two goals against Noah brought his tally to five in the Conference League this season—almost half of AZ’s total of 11—and he is certainly a player to keep an eye on.

Sparta will be missing Patrik Vydra, who had to leave the field with an injury shortly after scoring the first goal against Slavia Prague.

Vydra joins Elias Cobbaut, Santiago Eneme, Asger Sorensen, and Peter Vindahl on the treatment list for the visitors.

Magnus Andersen and Ondrej Penxa are also absent due to ongoing knee injuries ahead of the trip to Alkmaar.

AZ Alkmaar probable starting XI:

Owusu-Oduro; Dijkstra, Goes, Penetra, Van Duijl; Koopmeiners, Smit; Jensen, Mijnans, Daal; Parrott

Sparta Prague probable starting XI:

Surovcik; Zeleny, Sevinsky, Uchenna; Rynes, Irving, Kairinen, Kaderabek; Haraslin, Kuchta, Mercado

Having remained unbeaten in eight of their nine home matches this year (W6, D2), AZ has proven to be a tough opponent at the AFAS Stadion lately, and they must aim to establish an early advantage in this tie.

We anticipate the Dutch side to handle their Czech counterparts with relative ease and position themselves firmly in the quarter-finals.