AZ has announced the line-up for the return against Lazio in the eighth final of the Conference League. Pascal Jansen makes one change in his starting eleven compared to last Saturday, when the Alkmaarders were 1-0 too strong for FC Groningen. Yukinari Sugawara, who was missing against Groningen due to a suspension and was replaced by Fedde de Jong, returns to the starting line-up. AZ will defend a 1-2 lead at home on Thursday evening. The match starts at 9 p.m. and can be viewed on Veronica and ESPN 2.
Mathew Ryan is again under the Alkmaar bar, with a four-man defense in front of him consisting of Yukinari Sugawara, Wouter Goes, Pantelis Hatzidiakos and Milos Kerkez. The midfield is formed by Tijjani Reijnders, Sven Mijnans and Jordy Clasie, while Jens Odgaard, Vangelis Pavlidis and Jesper Karlsson have to score the goals in the front. The starting eleven is therefore exactly the same as last Tuesday against Lazio.
?? Let’s do this together!#AZ #azlaz #UECL #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/cQ0p92ZDaQ
— AZ (@AZAlkmaar) March 16, 2023
After the 1-2 win in Rome, AZ is close to its first quarter-final in a European tournament since the 2013/14 season. The Alkmaarders cannot have Dani de Wit, Riechedly Bazoer, Bruno Martins Indi, Sam Beukema, Zinho Vanheusden and Sem Westerveld on Thursday. Pavlidis scored on Thursday evening in the Stadio Olimpico and is increasingly emerging as a decisive player for AZ. The Greek also saw that the North Hollanders in Rome were overrun in the first twenty minutes. “You can’t do that at home. We want to play our own game, at our own pace.” After Pedro’s opening goal, Pavlidis and Kerkez gave AZ the win. Jansen’s team can rely on a hopeful statistic: this season only Feyenoord managed to beat AZ in Alkmaar.
Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri still has to do without Ciro Immobile, who is struggling with a muscle injury. Elseid Hysaj is also not there, as well as Luis Alberto. The latter fell out in the Serie A game with Bologna, where Lazio did not get further than a 0-0 draw. Sarri gives priority to the competition and has therefore already announced that he will rotate against AZ. “We’ve been playing every three days since January 4,” Sarri explained. “That’s crazy.” Lazio’s focus is on Sunday, when the derby against AS Roma is scheduled. Given the position, an extra charged duel. So first the duel in the AFAS Stadium. Sarri was completely unhappy about the field on Wednesday. “The field out here is unacceptable. I’m the only remaining dinosaur who watches this kind of thing.”
Setup AZ: Ryan; Sugawara, Goes, Hatzidiakos, Kerkez; Clasie, Mijnans, Reijnders; Odgaard, Pavlidis, Karlsson.
Lazio line-up:: Provedel; Marusic, Gila, Casale, Pellegrini; Milinkovic-Savic, Vecino, Basic; Cancellieri, Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni.