AZ Alkmaar vs SK Brann Prediction and Betting Tips | August 24th 2023

AZ Alkmaar and SK Brann lock horns at the AFAS Stadion in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs on Thursday.

The Dutch Eredivisie outfit head into the game on a run of seven back-to-back wins and will be looking to keep the juggernaut rolling.

AZ Alkmaar made it two wins from their opening two games of the 2023-24 Eredivisie campaign on Sunday when they edged out Waalwijk 3-1 at the Mandemakers Stadion.

This followed a 2-0 victory over Santa Coloma on August 17 which saw Pascal Jansen’s side complete a 3-0 aggregate victory over the Andorran outfit in the third qualifying round of the Conference League.

AZ have now won their last seven matches across all competitions, dating back to a 1-1 draw with Norwich City when the sides faced off in pre-season.

Meanwhile, Brann secured back-to-back wins in the Norwegian Eliteserien at the weekend when they thrashed Aalesunds 5-1 on home turf.

Prior to that, Eirik Horneland’s men picked up a 2-0 victory over HamKam on August 6 to bring their two-match losing streak in the Eliteserien to an end.

Sandwiched between the two league victories, Brann scraped through the third qualifying round of the Conference League as they picked up a narrow 4-3 win over two legs against Arouca.

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AZ Alkmaar vs SK Brann Head-To-Head and Key Numbers

• Thursday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between AZ Alkmaar and SK Brann, and both sides will look to begin their rivalry with a win.
• Jansen’s men are currently on a run of seven straight wins across all competitions and are undefeated in their last 10, claiming eight wins and two draws since the start of pre-season.
• The Norwegian outfit have lost all but one of their last five away games, with a 2-0 victory at HamKam on August 6 being the exception.
• AZ have won their last three home games across all competitions, scoring eight goals and keeping two clean sheets since May’s defeat against PSV Eindhoven.

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AZ Alkmaar vs SK Brann Prediction

AZ Alkmaar will be licking their lips as they take on a Brann side who have struggled to grind out results away from home. Jansen’s side boast the firepower needed to get this one over the line and we are backing them to come away with a comfortable victory.

Prediction: AZ Alkmaar 2-0 SK Brann Prediction

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AZ Alkmaar vs SK Brann Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result - AZ Alkmaar to win

Tip 2: Over 4.5 cards - Yes (There have been fewer than five bookings in nine of Brann’s last 10 games)

Tip 3: Over 10.5 corners - Yes (There have also been 11 or more corner kicks in four of the visitors’ last five games)