Three teams are still in the hunt for qualification from Europa League Group F as we enter the fifth round of fixtures. Two of those teams meet on Thursday night at the AFAS Stadion as AZ Alkmaar welcome Napoli to the Netherlands.
The hosts begin the game in third place on 7 points while the visitors are top of the group on 9 points.
AZ Alkmaar come into the match having defeated Heracles 3-1 away from home in the Eredivisie on the weekend.
That result means they are currently on a 4 match unbeaten run, including 3 victories and one draw. The draw came at home in the Europa League against Real Sociedad, with the game ending without a goal.
AZ Alkmaar have been difficult to beat at home in recent games and they are currently on an 8 match unbeaten run this season. That includes two Europa League games and in addition to the draw against Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar defeated Rijeka 4-1.
Trends show AZ Alkmaar are on an unbeaten run of 9 home games in their Europa League participation. However, they have recorded only 3 victories in those 9 matches but all three have been by convincing scorelines. AZ Alkmaar have seen 5 of their last 6 Europa League matches end with under 2.5 goals scored.
Napoli travel to the Netherlands having defeated Roma 4-0 at home in Serie A on the weekend. It was an emotionally charged game for the city of Naples following the death of legendary former player, Diego Maradona. The pressure was on the Napoli plays to produce a good performance and they delivered.
That result means Napoli have won 4 of their last 5 matches in all competitions including two wins over Rijeka in the Europa League. The first was a 2-1 win in Croatia and the second was a comfortable 2-0 victory at home.
Those results mean Napoli have won each of their last 3 Europa League games having started the campaign with a 1-0 home loss against AZ Alkmaar.
Trends show Napoli have seen under 2.5 goals scored in 3 of their 4 Europa League matches this season. Two of their 3 group victories have come away from home, including an important 1-0 win in Spain against Real Sociedad.
Team news and AZ Alkmaar could be without the experienced duo of Jordy Clasie and Ron Vlaar due to injury. There are also doubts over the fitness of Jeremy Helmer.
Napoli are without Amir Rrahmani and Elseid Hysaj due to COVID-19. Victor Osimhen is out due to a muscle injury.
This has the makings of being an extremely close game with under 2.5 goals scored. It will be interesting to see how Napoli perform following their emotional week and the hosts will fancy their chances of picking up a narrow one goal victory.