AZ Alkmaar approaches the first match with mixed feelings. They confidently defeated Noah at home (4-0) in the previous round of the Conference League, but their domestic performance has been worse: defeats to PSV (1-2) and Utrecht (0-2) exposed their defensive weaknesses. At home, the Dutch team is traditionally strong in attack, but rarely keeps a clean sheet.
Sparta has looked like a team without brakes in recent games. The Czechs crushed Baník (5-2), but suffered a heavy defeat to arch-rivals Slavia (1-3) and were eliminated from the Cup by Mladá Boleslav (0-1). The Prague team has the same problem as their opponents: they score a lot, but consistently concede even in winning matches.
Considering both teams' attacking tendencies and regular concede goals, as well as their high scoring rate in recent games, we expect a goal-sharp exchange. The Dutch need to score to advance to the next round, while the Czechs will look for their chance on the counterattack.
