Shakhtar Donetsk vs AZ Alkmaar Preview & Prediction | 2025-26 UEFA Conference League | Quarter-Final
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This UEFA Europa Conference League first-leg is being played at the neutral venue of Stadion Miejski im. Henryka Reymana in Krakow on Thursday night.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports / USA – Not televised
How to watch online: UK – HBO Max / USA – Paramount+
Key stats
- The only previous UEFA meetings between Shakhtar and AZ came in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup round of 16, where AZ won 5-2 on aggregate, winning 3-1 in Donetsk and 2-1 in Alkmaar.
- Shakhtar have won only two of their previous nine UEFA matches against Dutch opposition (D1 L6).
- Shakhtar have lost all three of their previous UEFA two‑legged ties against Dutch teams.
- Shakhtar are appearing in their sixth UEFA quarter‑final, having previously reached the last eight in the Cup Winners’ Cup, the UEFA Cup/Europa League (one UEFA Cup and two Europa League campaigns), and the UEFA Champions League.
- Shakhtar have won their last two UEFA quarter‑final ties — 6-1 on aggregate against Braga in the 2015/16 Europa League, and 4-1 against Basel in their single‑leg tie in the 2019/20 Europa League.
- Shakhtar are the first Ukrainian team in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Conference League.
- Shakhtar have lost only two of their 16 UEFA games this season (W9 D5), though they were beaten 2-1 by Lech Poznań in their most recent outing — the second leg of the round of 16.
- AZ Alkmaar have lost only three of their 12 UEFA games v UKR teams (W6 D3).
- AZ Alkmaar have won both of their previous UEFA two‑legged ties against Ukrainian opposition — 5-2 on aggregate against Shakhtar in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup round of 16, and 4-0 against FC Mariupol in the 2019/20 Europa League third qualifying round. They also faced Dynamo Kyiv in a one‑off Champions League third qualifying round tie in 2020/21, losing 2-0 away.
- This is AZ Alkmaar’s seventh UEFA quarter‑final, and their second in the UEFA Conference League, having reached this stage most recently in 2022/23 when they defeated Anderlecht on penalties.
- AZ Alkmaar have won 11 of their last 15 UEFA matches (D1 L3).
- AZ Alkmaar have kept five clean sheets in their last 15 UEFA matches.
- AZ Alkmaar have won 13 of their last 15 UEFA two-legged ties.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs AZ Alkmaar prediction
Shakhtar Donetsk come into this one on the back of a hard-fought 4-3 aggregate victory over Lech Poznan in the round of 16. The Ukrainian giants have been forced to regress in recent years due to inevitable and obvious off-field issues but this has been an impressive showing to reach the last eight of the UECL.
They now face an AZ Alkmaar side that eased to a comfortable 2-0 defeat of Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie in their most recent outing, the other day. That keeps them in the hunt for a top four or five finish domestically, and European qualification once again.
AZ impressively defeated Sparta Prague in the previous round and they should have confidence on neutral territory with both teams scoring seeming a decent bet for this one in Poland.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs AZ Alkmaar tip: Both teams to score
