Prediction: Maccabi Haifa to win 5-0
Best Odds: 10/1
Maccabi Haifa and Hamrun Spartans will lock horns with each other in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Qualifying First Round this week. The match between the team from Israel and the club from Malta will be held at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa and is scheduled to kick off at 6pm UK time on Tuesday.
Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa are one of the biggest clubs in Israel that 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 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. Maccabi Haifa won the first leg of the tie 4-0 on the road and are pretty much set to play in the next round.,
Team News:
Erik Shuranov, Pierre Cornud and Lior Refaelov all are likely to start for Maccabi Haifa.
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. Hamrun Spartans lost the first leg of the tie 4-0 at home and are unlikely to do much of note in the second leg on the road.
Team News:
Former Italy international goalkeeper Federico Marchetti could start ahead of Henry Bonello starting. New signing Uros Djuranovic could start as well for Hamrun Spartans.
Key Factors to Consider
- This will be the second 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 lost their 16-game unbeaten record at home in all competitions with a defeat to Maccabi Haifa.
- Maccabi Haifa have qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage on three occasions in the past.
Conclusion
Maccabi Haifa are a much better and stronger team than Hamrun Spartans and have always won the first leg away from home. It is hard to see anything but a win for Maccabi in the second leg.
Prediction: Maccabi Haifa to win 5-0
Best Odds: 10/1
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