It will be a much more difficult game than the derby

Raz Amir 15/10/2022 00:00

Vladan Ivitch (Itzik Blanitsky)

Maccabi Tel Aviv will go to the Doha Stadium tonight (Saturday, 20:15) for a difficult away game against Bnei Sakhnin, an opponent that beat them twice last season on this field. In fact, if you include the home games against the team of Biram Kiel and his friends, the Yellows did not win any of the four games as both meetings in Bloomfield ended in draws. Maccabi Tel Aviv’s last victory in Doha was achieved in November 2020, almost two full years ago.

the coach Vladan Ivic He said immediately after the 0:3 victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv that “our next game is against a much stronger opponent when they host at home and a much more difficult game is expected than the derby, we will have to be much better than against Hapoel Tel Aviv”, and he conveyed this message to his trainees throughout the last week in the training held for the game. The Serbian and his apprentices are aware that they are playing against Maccabi Haifa this week and a win could temporarily increase the gap at the top to four points and thus perhaps put some pressure on the Greens ahead of their game against Hapoel Hadera.

As far as the professional preparations for the game are concerned, with the exception of Yonatan Cohen who is not eligible yet and will not be in the squad, it seems that Ivic should enjoy the rest of his players and will once again face a particularly big headache when it comes to the squad. With Sharan Yeni’s return, if it is decided that he is on the roster, he will likely take Derrick Lucassen off the roster for the game. As far as the lineup is concerned, according to estimates there will be no changes, but this will be determined only after the final training session.

“Sakhnin is in good form, we need to be in focus”

The one who was defined in the club as the standout of the derby following the change he brought to the game from the moment he came on, Parfa Goyagon, should get more playing minutes in the near future when the club estimates that he will even get opportunities as a second striker alongside Eran Zahavi or Djorja Jovanovic, who has to manage the load on Both in a smart way. Of course, the main reason why Maccabi Tel Aviv is considering using Parfa as a second striker is the great ability of Oscar Gloch and Gabi Kanikovsky.