West Ham-AZ Alkmaar is a match valid for the first leg of the Conference League semifinals and is played Thursday at 9 p.m.: tv, predictions.
Dangerous in the league, flawless in the cup. It is a double-faced West Ham that we have come to know this season. The Hammers, out of it all at home, still have a chance to put things right by clinching a title that would allow them to play in Europe again next year, despite the fact that in the Premier League they have consistently struggled to avoid a relegation that would have been sensational.
The team coached by David Moyes, among the big favorites since the beginning of this edition of the Conference League, in the international arena, on the other hand, has always fully lived up to expectations. Not that it has had to deal with level-headed opponents-after dominating the group, it eliminated the Cypriots of Aek Larnaca and the Belgians of Gent-but it must be given credit for never snubbing or taking the competition underhand. The Londoners in the last league round returned to success by narrowly beating (1-0) Manchester United: a goal by Said Benrahma gave Moyes probably the decisive three points for a salvation that is not yet mathematical. With three games to play, West Ham is 15th but +7 from third-last, Leicester. And all they need is a win to make sure they are out of danger. The Scottish coach can therefore concentrate on a cup that at this point becomes the primary goal to make the season less bitter.
Hammers, the cup to save the season
West Ham thus preparing to play in its second consecutive European semifinal: last year, in fact, it was eliminated in the penultimate act of the Europa League by future winners Eintracht Frankfurt.
Pascal Jansen, AZ coach
For the Hammers there is now the insidious Az Alkmaar, the most credible outsider among the four teams left in the game. Lazio, which was eliminated by the Dutch themselves in the round of 16, losing in both the first leg and the return leg, knows something about this. Pascal Jansen’s men were then able to come back from two goals down to Belgium’s Anderlecht after they had botched the first match in Brussels, edging it out on penalty kicks. In the Eredivisie, on the other hand, they are in the race for third with three days to go: Az makes the run on disappointing Ajax, which has only two more points but emerged unscathed from last Saturday’s direct clash at Cruijff Arena (0-0). The Alkmaar club, which landed in a Uefa semifinal 18 years after the last time, dreams of playing a historic final that has been missing since as far back as 1981. As for the lineups, Moyes is expected to send out an eleven very similar to the one that faced United in the Premier, obviously without the unavailable Scamacca and Zouma. In Az, Odgaard is in strong doubt, while Kerkez will not be there due to disqualification.
The Prediction
West Ham in the Conference League so far has shown no weaknesses but on its way it has not met teams of the level of Az Alkmaar, an opponent the Londoners cannot afford to underestimate. Hammers slightly favored in a match in which both are likely to score on at least one occasion.
The probable lineups of West Ham-AZ Alkmaar
- WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Fabiański; Johnson, Ogbonna, Aguerd, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Paquetá, Benrahma; Antonio.
- AZ ALKMAAR (4-3-3): Ryan; Sugawara, Beukema, Hatzidiakos, M. de Wit; Reijnders, Mijnans, Clasie; Lahdo, Pavlidis, Van Brederode.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
