Maccabi Haifa are among those teams who have made it through the qualifying rounds and are now one step away from the group stage of the 2022-23 Champions League. The Israelis have not gone this far since the 2011-12 edition, when they were eliminated by Belgian side Genk. Despite the fact that Barak Bakhar’s men started their season with the disappointment of losing the national Super Cup on penalties to rivals Hapoel Be’er Sheva, the cup with the big ears ‘revived’ the green team.
Maccabi’s impressive 4-0 rout of the favourites Olympiacos in the second round: Pierrot and his team-mates practically “feasted” in Piraeus after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Identical result in the first of the two matches against the Cypriots from Apollon Limassol: the second poker in the space of a few days that made the return leg, played last Tuesday, a mere formality. While waiting to make their debut in the league, Maccabi will play a lot with Dejan Stankovic’s Red Star: the hope of the Israeli fans is to hear the Champions League music again after an eleven-year absence. For them, it would be their third ever participation: in the 2002-03 edition, the one won by Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan to be clear, they resoundingly managed to overwhelm none other than Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United with a mythological 3-0 victory.
The Belgrade outfit, which also made its mark in this competition in 1990-91, is also a fascinating team. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, but the Red and Whites have made several appearances in recent years: the last was in the 2019-20 season. Stankovic and his men do not want to repeat last year’s mistake – they were eliminated by Sheriff – and they are off to a strong start, scoring seven goals in total in the double-header against Pyunik.
Dejan Stankovic ©️Ansafoto
The Prediction
The Red Star has definitely been on fire since the start of the season – in the league they have racked up four wins in a row, scoring in spurts – and seem slight favourites. In any case, we imagine that Maccabi Haifa will give it a run for its money, especially in front of their home crowd. It is not a gamble to bet on the success of Stankovic’s team.
Maccabi Haifa v Red Star: the likely line-up
MACCABI HAIFA (4-3-3): Cohen; Sundgren, Planic, Goldberg, Cornud; Chery, Lavi, Mohamed; Haziza, Pierrot, David.
RED STAR (4-4-2): Borjan; Erakovic, Milunovic, Dragovic, Rodic; Kangwa, Kanga, Bukari, Ivanic; Pesic, Katai.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
