Europa League | Round of 16 | 2nd Leg

Mar 13, 2025 at 8pm UK

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Spurs vs AZ

(agg: 0-1)

Match preview

Spurs' defeat last week means they have now won just one of their last nine European away legs, with their only success coming in the last 32 of this competition against Wolfsburg behind closed doors in 2021.

This has quickly become the most important game of the season for manager Ange Postecoglou, whose trophy hopes are under serious threat.

The FA Cup and EFL Cup have both fallen by the wayside in recent times, leaving the Europa League as their only chance of ending a near two-decade wait for silverware.

Spurs finished fourth in the league and took 10 points from a possible 12 at home, including a 1-0 win over AZ, so despite their current deficit, few will be panicking ahead of this game.

Keeping things tight at the back could be the key, with the hosts having scored in each of their previous 29 Europa League home games - a competition record - so goals should come easily, but keeping them out at the other end has proved difficult.

Bournemouth scored twice at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, and Postecoglou's side were lucky not to have gone more than 2-0 down before their late fightback.

The point leaves them in 13th place, 10 points off the top eight, and their focus will now turn to Europe, where they are favourites, having won four of their last five home games against Dutch clubs.

The only exception in that run was Ajax's 1-0 win here in the 2019 Champions League semi-final, but Spurs still went through to the final after a dramatic late comeback in Amsterdam.

AZ had little to play for in the run-up to the first leg, but they did end a 10-match winless run against English sides by beating Spurs a week ago.

However, they remain the big underdogs, having lost on all nine of their previous European trips to England - the worst 100% record in European football history.

AZ's away form in general is a cause for concern for Maarten Martens' side, who have failed to win any of their last 10 away games on the continent and will match their worst ever run if they fail to win in this fixture.

Fortunately for the visitors, their league match against Waalwijk at the weekend was postponed to give them maximum time to prepare for this game.

It has been an astonishingly good 2025 for the AZ supporters, who have excelled on three fronts as they beat Turkish giants Galatasaray 6-3 on aggregate to reach this stage.

Since losing to Ferencvaros on the eighth matchday of the league phase, AZ have won seven of their nine games in all competitions to keep themselves in contention for a top-three finish in the Eredivisie.

However, their biggest win of all came against Heracles Almelo in the KNVB Beker semi-finals, setting up a clash with Go Ahead Eagles in next month's final.

Recent Performance

Tottenham Hotspur Europa League form:LDDWWL

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):LWWLLD

AZ Alkmaar Europa League form:DWLWDW

AZ Alkmaar form (all competitions):WDWWLW

Team News

Spurs will be without midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur after his yellow card in the first leg earned him a one-match suspension, but with Archie Gray and Bergvall only named as substitutes at the weekend, Postecoglou has more than enough options to cover.

Micky van den Ven and Cristian Romero both returned from long absences at the weekend and could start at centre-back, especially with Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies both out injured.

Dejan Kulusevski is Tottenham's big miss at the moment, with the Swede having contributed 20 goals in all competitions this season, while Richarlison, who scored the only goal when they beat AZ in the league, is also out.

AZ will be without Mayckel Lahdo, who was forced off inside 10 minutes of the first leg, and his replacement, Denso Kasius, was forced off just after the hour mark.

The pair will join influential duo Sven Mijnans and Ruben van Bommel on the sidelines, while young attacking duo Jayden Addai and Mexx Meerdink are also out injured.

Former Spurs youngster Troy Parrott will once again lead the line and will be hoping to score against the club where he made his breakthrough as a youngster, having failed to do so in the two previous meetings this season.

Possible starting lineup

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Pedro Porro, Van de Ven, Romero, Udogie; Bergvall, Gray, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son

AZ Alkmaar possible starting lineup:

Owusu-Oduro; Maikuma, Goes, Penetra, Wolfe; Clasie, Buurmeester, Koopmeiners; Poku, Parrott, Sadiq