Maccabi Haifa Put aside the loss in the “Champions Champion” and concentrate on the first game against Olympiacos in the second round of the Champions League qualifiers that will be held this coming Wednesday in Sami Ofer.
The one who will not be available to coach Barak Bachar in the pair of meetings against the Greeks is midfielder Muhammad Jaber, who was injured in the back on Saturday. Last night (Sunday) he underwent an MRI and will meet today with a doctor to decipher, with the club estimating that he will be absent for at least two weeks and hoping he will be fit to open the league.
Throughout the preparation for the season, Bachar has practiced quite a bit of a set that includes three brakes. Daniel Sundgren may open alongside Bogdan Planic and Sean Goldberg. Should that happen, Dolev Haziza and Pierre Corno will function as extremists.
In the link, it seems that captain Neta Lavi’s place is guaranteed and Muhammad Abu Fani is running for the next place, which was guarded in Haifa and did not open against BS, and with him is also Ali Muhammad. Charon Sari will return to the squad. According to David and Nikita Rokavica, there is an advantage over Frantzie Piero that is expected to come off the bench.
It is not inconceivable that Bachar will go up in his usual 4-4-3 formation, but in any case it is a flexible formation that can change formation without making substitutions. The Israeli champion will enjoy a boost of 30,000 spectators, as Olympiacos fans have announced that they will not be coming to Sami Ofer.
Meanwhile, the burning issue at the club is the future of Bogdan Planic, who is getting interest from AEK Athens. The club have made it clear that they will not sell him under his release clause of two million euros. According to them, Planic does not rule out the possibility of staying, even though the contract offered by AEK Athens is higher than the one that Carmel is able and willing to pay him.
Maccabi Haifa is trying to keep him in focus for the two important games against Olympiacos, when Bachar really wants him to stay.