AZ Alkmaar Europa League fixtures and opponents

AZ's draw brings familiar names back

AZ's official draw report highlights meetings with former players Vangelis Pavlidis at Benfica and Teun Koopmeiners at Juventus. Juventus visit Alkmaar on 5 November; the Benfica fixture is away on 28 January. Those links add context to two dates that sit at very different points in the league programme.

AZ begin away to Sunderland on 16 September. Their first home European fixture follows on 15 October against Hapoel Beer-Sheva. The official announcement places the Juventus home game at AFAS Stadion, while the match guide remains the place to check the venue attached to each individual fixture.

How AZ's home and away dates alternate

After Hapoel's visit, AZ travel to Ararat-Armenia on 22 October. November pairs Juventus at home with Sparta Prague away on the 26th. Sturm Graz come to Alkmaar on 10 December, and Dinamo Zagreb are the January home opponents on the 21st.

A Lisbon finale

Benfica host AZ on 28 January, one week after Dinamo Zagreb's visit to Alkmaar. That Lisbon trip is the last league-phase fixture.

The cup win that brought AZ straight into the league phase

AZ's official draw announcement traces their place back to April's 5–1 Dutch Cup final victory over NEC. It was the club's first cup triumph in 13 years and secured direct entry to the Europa League league phase, avoiding a summer qualifying route.

NEC are part of that domestic qualification story, not one of AZ's eight European opponents. The European draw instead brings Juventus and Dinamo Zagreb to Alkmaar, with Benfica among the away fixtures. AZ's earlier Europa League quarter-final in 2013/14 remains a separate benchmark for the knockout stages.

AZ Alkmaar: fan questions