CONFERENCE LEAGUE BETTING PREVIEW - AZ ALKMAAR VS SHAKHTAR DONETSK

Conference League

2026-04-16 - AZ Alkmaar vs Shakhtar Donetsk

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

AZ Alkmaar v Shakhtar Donetsk
Football: UEFA Conference League Quarter Final Second Leg
Thursday 16th April 2026 - Kick Off 5:45pm
This game is live on TV

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AZ Alkmaar

With less than twenty minutes left on the clock, AZ Alkmaar fans may have begun to turn their attention to the Second Leg of this Quarter Final and had plenty of confidence in the team being able to progress. Perhaps the players had also begun to think ahead and that may have contributed to the three goals conceded, which has put AZ Alkmaar behind the black ball in their bid to reach the Semi Final of the Conference League.

There is an outside chance that AZ Alkmaar could push into the top four domestically and earn a spot in either the Champions League or Europa League for next season. They had a big win this weekend, which will have been a boost for the confidence of the team and AZ Alkmaar have won 6 of the 7 home games played in the Conference League.

AZ Alkmaar scored twice inside the opening eight minutes and crushed Heerenveen 3-0 at home this past weekend and have won 5 of the last 7 games in all competitions. It is the kind of performance and scoreline that will give any team confidence and AZ Alkmaar have now won 7 in a row at home in all competitions.

Shakhtar Donetsk

After a 2-2 draw in an entertaining fixture against LNZ Cherkasy, Shakhtar Donetsk remain favourites to reclaim the Ukrainian Championship. At the same time Shakhtar Donetsk are in a commanding position to reach the Conference League Semi Final following the 3-0 victory in the First Leg on neutral field and with some strong away results throughout this European season.

Earlier this season, Shakhtar Donetsk were beaten on Penalties to drop out of the Europa League Qualifiers and into the Conference League, but they are enjoying their best run in any UEFA competition since 2020. The 3-0 victory in the First Leg thanks to three late goals has placed Shakhtar Donetsk in a very positive position, but they will be a little wary of this AZ Alkmaar team. The side are unbeaten in 8 away European games played this season and Shakhtar Donetsk have won all 4 on their travels since the start of the League Phase in the Conference League.

Shakhtar Donetsk have lost 1 of the 9 games played in all competitions since the Winter Break and they have produced wins in 7 of those fixtures. Prior to the draw at title rivals LNZ Cherkasy, Shakhtar Donetsk had won 3 away games in succession either side of the Winter Break.

Head to Head

This is the second time Shakhtar Donetsk will visit AZ Alkmaar having lost 2-1 here in the UEFA Cup back in 2005.

Prediction

You cannot ignore the game state of this Quarter Final with Shakhtar Donetsk able to play with some patience after building up a three goal lead against AZ Alkmaar from the First Leg.

With less than twenty minutes remaining, it looked like both teams would be heading to the Netherlands with the tie level, but those late goals have given Shakhtar Donetsk a big advantage.

While all is not lost for AZ Alkmaar, there is some pressure to try and score at least one early goal and build up some momentum.

Credit has to be given to AZ for the way they have performed at home in the Conference League this season, while the 3-0 win over Heerenveen this past weekend in the Eredivisie is a huge confidence booster. That is the last of a 7 game winning run at home, which will also provide ample belief for AZ Alkmaar, but they are facing a dangerous Shakhtar Donetsk team who have won 4 away Conference League games in succession.

The visiting team can wait this out to some extent- all of the onus is on AZ Alkmaar to push forward and try and get back into the Quarter Final tie, while a narrow loss would still take Shakhtar Donetsk through. However, if the home team begin to take chances, Shakhtar Donetsk can certainly get out on the break and make sure they finish the tie off with another goal.

AZ Alkmaar have not conceded many home goals in the Conference League, but the situation makes this a little tougher.

They were not really good enough in the final third last week, but the focus may have been on making sure they are still in the tie when returning home and ultimately AZ Alkmaar have failed to do that.

At the same time, Shakhtar Donetsk did not create a lot of big chances in the neutral field win and there is every reason to believe AZ Alkmaar can at least produce a victory on the night, even if it is unlikely to be enough to even force Extra Time.

The Pick :

AZ Alkmaar 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back AZ Alkmaar to Win at 1.95 with Bet365 (early payout if a team is leading by two goals)