On Thursday night, Gil Vicente hosts AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League play-off round second leg. The first leg finished in a 4-0 win for the Dutch team.
The Portuguese team have made a mixed start to the new campaign overall, picking up four points from their opening three matches in the Primeira Liga. A 0-0 draw at home to Famalicao last time out means that the home side is winless in three games in all competitions.
Their biggest problem in recent games has been scoring goals, as they have failed to score in three matches in all competitions.
This season is the first in which Gil Vicente has featured in the Europa Conference League. In the previous round, they eliminated Latvian team Riga, drawing the first leg away from home before progressing via a 4-0 victory in the second leg of the tie.
The visitors head into this clash on a good run of form, as the Dutch outfit has now recorded four straight victories in all competitions. The first leg victory continued AZ’s recent prolific streak in front of goal, as Pascal Jansen’s team has scored at least two goals in all four of those recent victories. At the other end of the pitch, AZ has also kept clean sheets in three of the four wins.
Similar to the home team, AZ Alkmaar are making their Europa Conference League debut this season. The Dutch team has won four of their five games in the competition, suffering just one defeat against Dundee United in the last round.
The visitors have an excellent defensive record in the competition, conceding just one goal in their five matches.
Forebet predicts that AZ will record another victory in a high-scoring encounter to book their place in the Europa Conference League.