CONFERENCE LEAGUE BETTING PREVIEW - CRYSTAL PALACE VS AZ ALKMAAR

Conference League

2025-11-06 - Crystal Palace vs AZ Alkmaar

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Crystal Palace v AZ Alkmaar
Football: UEFA Conference League
Thursday 6th November 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV

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Crystal Palace

This entire season feels like one where Crystal Palace need to be learning all of the time as they continue to have significant success under the guidance of Oliver Glasner. A first European campaign along with a run to the League Cup Quarter Final has created a fixture pile up over the festive period, which has frustrated the manager, but is also a sign of how far Crystal Palace have come.

West Ham United and Chelsea are two London clubs who have won the Conference League and Crystal Palace have to be amongst the favourites to do that at the end of this campaign. However, this is a club that is not experienced with the number of games being played and Crystal Palace dropped into 15th place in the Conference League table after losing to AEK Larnaca at Selhurst Park on Match Day 2 of a six game Group schedule.

Crystal Palace had failed to win any of 4 games in all competitions and had been beaten 3 times in that run, but they look to have moved out of that slump with consecutive wins over Liverpool and Brentford. Home form has been a little erratic and Crystal Palace had won just 1 of the previous 6 games at Selhurst Park in all competitions before beating Brentford here this past weekend.

Oliver Glasner has picked strong teams for all of the Conference League games played this season to underline his ambitions.

AZ Alkmaar

In recent years AZ Alkmaar have become a regular feature of the Conference League and this is the fourth time in five years that they are playing in this competition. 2024/25 was the exception as AZ Alkmaar battled through to the Last 16 of the Europa League before being beaten by eventual Winners Tottenham Hotspur, but they are back in the third level UEFA competition this time around.

Winning three Qualifying ties helped AZ Alkmaar into the League Phase of the competition and they are 21st in the table having secured 3 points from the opening two fixtures played. Just as their opponent did, AZ Alkmaar have suffered a loss to AEK Larnaca in this League Phase, although the Dutch club were beaten 4-0 away from home on Match Day 1 and bounced back with a victory last time out.

AZ Alkmaar have built up some real momentum since that loss to AEK Larnaca and they will arrive in South London having won each of the last 5 games played in all competitions. They will have gained plenty of confidence after beating Ajax 0-2 in Amsterdam and AZ Alkmaar have backed that up with a 0-1 win over Sparta Rotterdam.

Head to Head

This is the first competitive meeting between these clubs.

Prediction

This is going to be the fourth season in a row that AZ Alkmaar have faced an opponent from the English Premier League and they will have to find a way to change recent fortunes.

West Ham United beat them twice in the Conference League Semi Final in 2023 and several months later they were beaten twice by Aston Villa in the same competition in the old Group Stage format.

Last season they played Tottenham Hotspur three times in the Europa League and were beaten in both games played in London as they prepare to return to the United Kingdom capital for this latest Conference League game.

It is a big one for both AZ Alkmaar and Crystal Palace having already suffered defeats to AEK Larnaca in this League Phase.

AZ Alkmaar do arrive in good form, but this is a considerable leap in level of opponent and Oliver Glasner has picked strong Crystal Palace starting elevens in all competitions they have entered. The manager's reputation is being improved all of the time and Crystal Palace have come out of a recent slump thanks to strong wins over Liverpool and Brentford.

The performances at Selhurst Park have been very good, but the results have not always followed, which is a slight concern in backing Crystal Palace. Before the win over Brentford, The Eagles had won 1 of 6 home games played in all competitions in normal time and that despite creating so many chances in failures to beat Sunderland, Bournemouth and AEK Larnaca here.

Continuing to create those opportunities should lead to good things and Crystal Palace can just remind AZ Alkmaar of the difficulties they have had when travelling to face English opponents in the last three seasons. All four visits have ended in defeat and half have been in comfortable defeats, which is what Crystal Palace can produce on Thursday to move a little closer to the top eight in the Conference League standings.

The Pick :

Crystal Palace 2-0 AZ Alkmaar

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Crystal Palace - 1.25 Asian Handicap at 1.90 with Bet365