Maccabi Haifa-Young Boys is a match valid for the first leg of the Champions League qualifying playoffs and is played Wednesday at 9 p.m.: predictions.
Maccabi Haifa does not evoke positive memories for Juventus fans, who also because of that absurd defeat in Israel last year missed qualifying for the round of 16, relegating to the Europa League. The Israelis lost their leader, Barak Bakhar, now on the Red Star bench, but they remain a competitive team.
And it is evidenced by the fact that they have again come within a step of the group stage, passing three qualifying rounds. Since July 11, the green-and-whites have played six matches, eliminating Hamrun Spartans, Sheriff Tiraspol and Slovan Bratislava, with a haul of five wins and one loss. They also won the national Super Cup thanks to a 3-1 victory over Beitar Jerusalem. The Israeli championship has not yet begun: having been able to focus exclusively on the preliminaries was certainly a ben for Messay Dego’s men, who now aim to subvert the odds against the Swiss Young Boys as well. Raphael Wicky’s yellow-and-whites are among the few teams qualified directly for the play-offs, but like Maccabi Haifa they have played as many as five official matches, considering that the Swiss championship began as early as the end of July.
The Bern club has so far shined only within its home walls, where it defeated Lausanne and Winterthur by scoring seven goals in total.
Elijah
Less well on the road instead: remained unbeaten against Yverdon-Sport and Lucerne but did not go beyond two draws. Last weekend Young Boys was engaged in the Schweizer Cup and overwhelmed the hapless Breitenrain 5-0, sending out many reserves. The current champions of the Swiss Super League have not qualified for the group stage since the 2021-22 edition, when they finished last in a group that also included Manchester United, Villarreal and Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta.
The prediction
The Young Boys definitely has something more on a technical level. It is slightly favored and the bookmakers’ odds seem to confirm this. However, Maccabi has already taken important scalps and will not give up easily. In this regard, we believe it can win the first leg, in a stadium that was a real factor in the past edition.
The probable lineups of Maccabi Haifa-Young Boys
- MACCABI HAIFA (4-2-3-1): Nitzan; Sundgren, Seck, Goldberg, Cornud; Jaber, Mohamed; Saba, Chery, Haziza; Pierrot.
- YOUNG BOYS (4-1-3-2): Racioppi; Janko, Lustenberger, Camara, Benito; Niasse; Ugrinic, Monteiro, Rieder; Nsame, Itten.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
