The line-up of AZ for the return leg in the third preliminary round of the Conference League against Dundee United has been announced. Pascal Jansen, the trainer of the Alkmaarderes, opts for the same eleven players who won the home game against Go Ahead Eagles with 2-0 last Sunday. This means that the young Myron van Brederode will also start again.
There is still a lot of work to be done for AZ, which lost 1-0 in Dundee a week ago and therefore needs to change things up a bit to make it to the Conference League play-offs. Jansen said this week that he still has every confidence in it. “Our plan has to be better and more efficient than last week, because then we were toothless. We got into nice spaces, but we didn’t manage to accelerate to an attack in that game. That has to be improved and we are confident that we can get the job done.”
That is not yet happening with Riechedly Bazoer and Yukinari Sugawara in the squad. Those two players were not fit enough to travel to Scotland last week and can now make minutes, but they both start on the bench. Jansen has made no changes to his team and that means that Van Brederode can show himself again. The nineteen-year-old attacker is in the front left and has to provide striker Vangelis Pavlidis with a supply. Scoring, as Van Brederode did this weekend, is of course also desirable.
In the back, Pantelis Hatzidiakos is still the man who has to cover the right wing. The Greek has lost the place in the heart of the defense to Sam Beukema, who plays there again. However, both will know that there is another competitor at AZ with Zinho Vanheusden. The Belgian rented from Internazionale is still injured. Bruno Martins Indi and Milos Kerkez complete the defence, while Dani de Wit, Jordy Clasie and Tijjani Reijnders form the midfield. Evjen is next to Pavlidis and Van Brederode in the front.
AZ .’s line-up: Concealed; Hatzidiakos, Beukema, Martins Indi, Kerkez; Clasie, Reijnders, De Wit; Evjen, Pavlidis, Van Brederode
Dundee United’s line-up: Birighitti; Smith, Edwards, Mulgrew, Behich; Sibbald, Levitt, McGrath; Watt, Fletcher, Harkes.