Prediction: Maccabi Haifa to win 2-0
Best Odds: 9/2
Hamrun Spartans and Maccabi Haifa will lock horns with each other in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Qualifying First Round this week. The match between the club from Malta and the team from Israel will be held at the Victor Tedesco Stadium in Hamrun and is scheduled to kick off at 9pm UK time on Tuesday.
Hamrun Spartans
Hamrun Spartans are one of the major clubs in Malta. Tas-Sikkina won the 2022–23 Maltese Premier League title. They ended the campaign with 69 points from 26 matches, as many as 19 points clear of second-placed Birkirkara. That has allowed Hamrun Spartans to enter the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League campaign at the first qualifying round.
Spartans have won the Maltese Premier League title as many as nine times. They were one of the dominating forces in Malta in the 1980s, but went through a barren spell for 30 years before winning the title in 2020-21. And then they clinched the championship again last season.
Hamrun Spartans do not have a very good record in European competitions. They reached the playoff round of the UEFA Europa Conference League last season. They last played in the UEFA Champions League in 1991-92 when the competition was still known as the European Cup.
Team News:
Former Italy international goalkeeper Federico Marchetti is part of the Hamrun Spartans squad, but he is likely to be on the bench, with Henry Bonello starting ahead of him between the sticks. New signing Uros Djuranovic could make his competitive debut for the home team.
Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa are one of the biggest clubs of Israel who regularly play in major European competitions. They win the championship in Israel quite frequently and have had some brilliant players in the past. Maccabi will expect themselves to get into the UEFA Champions League group stage this campaign.
The Greens won the 2022–23 Israeli Premier League title. They finished last season with 81 points from 36 matches, as many as seven points above second-placed Hapoel Be’er Sheva. It was Maccabi’s third successive championship success following their triumph in 2021 and 2022.
Messay Dego’s side played in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in 2022-23. They also featured in the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League. Maccabi Haifa will fancy their chances of going through the qualifying rounds and into the group stage of the UEFA Champions League for the second season in a row.
Team News:
Erik Shuranov, Pierre Cornud and Lior Refaelov all are likely to start for Maccabi Haifa.
Key Factors to Consider
- This will be the first meeting between Hamrun Spartans and Maccabi Haifa.
- Each of Maccabi Haifa’s last five away competitive games have witnessed goals at both ends.
- Hamrun Spartans have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six home games in all competitions.
- Hamrun Spartans are unbeaten in 16 home matches in all competitions, winning 13 of those games.
- Maccabi Haifa have qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage on three occasions in the past
Conclusion
Even though Hamrun Spartans are at home for the match, Maccabi Haifa have the better team and have more experience. It is hard to see the Israeli champions suffer a loss in the first leg. A win for the away team is the most likely outcome in this match.
Prediction: Maccabi Haifa to win 2-0
Best Odds: 9/2
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