What Dundee United can expect from AZ Alkmaar or Tuzla City - £6m spent, £9m exit, 31-goal duo, 47-goal trio

Dundee United will play either Dutch side AZ Alkmaar or Bosnian runners-up Tuzla City in the third qualifying round of the Conference League.

AZ will be strong favourites to progress due to their standing in the game and having spent more than £6million this summer.

So, what can United expect from the two sides?

Starting with AZ, the team technically finished runners-up as recently as the 2019/20 season when the season was abandoned due to the Covid-19 pandemic. No champions were declared but the team from Alkmaar in the province of North Holland were the country's second representatives in the Champions League having been six points ahead of Feyenoord after 25 games played. They were level on points with Ajax.

AZ, under the management of Louis van Gaal, won the Eredivisie in 2008/09 when Mounir El Hamdaoui finished top scorer ahead of Luis Suarez.

Last season, the team finished fifth. It meant they entered the European play-offs in the Dutch top-flight. They defeated Heerenveen 4-3 on aggregate to reach the final against Vitesse where 6-1 second-leg win saw them overturn a 2-1 first-leg loss.

Predominantly set up in a 4-2-3-1 shape under manager Pascal Jansen, they are a team which can score goals. Only the top three – Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord – scored more with Vangelis Pavlidis and Jesper Karlsson scoring 31 between them in the league. The team are possession-based – only Ajax recorded more passes – and were fifth for most shots and second for most crosses in the league last season.

They have lost left-back and captain Owen Wijndal to Ajax. The 22-year-old Dutch international was bought for £9million. Money has been reinvested in the squad. The marquee recruit so far has been Jens Odgaard. The versatile Danish forward has been signed for nearly £4million from Sassuolo after impressing with 11 goals in 33 games on loan at Eredivisie side RKC Waalwijk.

AZ Alkmaar danger duo Vangelis Pavlidis and Jesper Karlsson. (Photo by ED VAN DE POL/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

Other notable names include Dutch internationals Bruno Martins Indi and Jordy Clasie, as well as young goalkeeper Sem Westerveld, son of former Liverpool keeper Sander.

Tuzla City: Danger men and first sojourn

As for their second round qualifying opponents Tuzla City, they are European novices compared to both AZ and Dundee United. Based in the north east of the country, United fans would face a 127km journey from the country’s capital Sarajevo.

This is their first sojourn into Europe after finishing second in last season's Premijer liga, albeit 27 points behind winners Zrinjski Mostar. They have already defeated Tre Penne of San Marino 8-0 on aggregate in the first qualifying round.

Despite being founded in 1955, this was their highest placing having only reached the top-flight for the first time in 2018 when they won the second tier.

Similar to AZ, the club’s preferred formation is 4-2-3-1. They had the third-oldest average age in the Bosnian top-flight last season and, going by expected goals, were perhaps on the fortunate side. They out performed their xG by 10 and conceded five fewer than expected.

They are a team with danger men. Adnan Dzafic, Sulejman Krpic and Mirzad Mehanović finished second, third and fourth in the league for combined goals and assists. However, they have already lost two with Dzafic joining league rivals FK Sarajevo and Krpic a free agent.