AZ Alkmaar Anderlecht Odds : Benschop and Altidore to fire Dutch in Europa League
When the Netherlands take on Belgium in an international fixture you can always guarantee there will be a fiercely competed game between two sides who share a border.
It is without doubt that the same sense of competitive spirit is carried across to club games, so when Anderlecht cross the border to play AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, you can be sure that a fascinating encounter will be in store.
Alkmaar are yet to win the Europa Cup – or the UEFA Cup as it used to be known – but they certainly do have a prestigious history in the competition.
Free Europa League Bets with Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes have been in touch to tell us they will offer free bets worth £50/€50 to spend on any fixture this week, including all Europa League games! Exclusive to Footybunker.com, claim here!
The furthest they ever got was back in 1981 when they went all the way to the final where they were eventually beaten over two legs by Ipswich Town.
Incidentally, Alkmaar actually won the home leg in quite convincing fashion, so it is no surprise that they will go into Thursday’s game with a great deal of confidence.
Only two years after Alkmaar reached the final of the UEFA Cup, Anderlecht actually went one better and won the competition, beating Sven Göran Eriksson’s Benfica side 2-1 on aggregate in the final.
The following season, in 1984, Anderlecht reached the final once more, but just lost out on penalties to Tottenham Hotspur.
AZ Alkmaar only just managed to scrape through Group G on goal difference, eventually finishing as runners up to Metalist Kharkiv. Indeed, they only drew their last four group matches.
That is in stark contrast to Anderlecht who stormed through their group, winning all six games on the way and racking up an impressive goal difference of 13.
Everything points towards this being a fascinating encounter. Both sides will fancy their chances, but it will be interesting to see whether Anderlecht can maintain their winning run in the competition.
