The ninth round of the Premier League continues at this time when the champion, Maccabi Haifa, who can temporarily rise to first place at the expense of Maccabi Tel Aviv, is hosted by Irini Kiryat Shmona, who have not won seven league games in a row and have a single victory on their balance sheet.
Barak Becher’s team wants to avoid another unnecessary loss like the ones that happened to them against Bnei Rayna and Hapoel Jerusalem, when the dramatic 0:1 against Hapoel Hadera in the previous round almost slipped through their fingers in the final minutes. The Greens want to go to the meeting against PSG with a calm mind, and three points in the meeting with the northerners will definitely contribute to that.
On the other hand, the host comes to the match after the 2:0 loss to Beitar Jerusalem in the previous round, when it is ranked in tenth place. Menachem Koretsky’s team knows that a prestigious victory will also break the long streak it is on (seven games without a win) and set it on a new path.
In terms of past meetings, in the last ten meetings between the teams, the champion proved absolute dominance with eight victories in the mini-derby of the North, when Kiryat Shmona won only once and one game ended with the distribution of points.