Maccabi Haifa will close the group stage campaign in the Champions League tonight (Wednesday, 22:00), when they will host Benfica Lisbon at Sami Ofer as part of the sixth round. The greens know that they have a real chance to finish in third place at home which also includes Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus and will try to get a good result. Yesterday (Tuesday) coach Barak Becher prepared for the meeting at the traditional press conference.
On the side of the squad’s fitness, the defender Dylan Betovinska trained with his teammates and is expected at this stage to be available to Bacher in the decisive meeting, at the end of which the Greens will hope to be in third place and fall to the knockout stage of the Europa League. Dolev Haziza also trained, but despite his great desire to be in the squad, he is in doubt and may return only against Beitar Jerusalem.
According to the team’s practice, it appears that Omer Atzili will be rested and will not start, when the coach will practice a line of four defenders with Raz Meir, Abdulai Sek, Sean Goldberg and Pierre Cornot. At the same time, Neta Lavi, Ali Mohammed, Mohammed Abu Fani and Chiron Sherry practiced in the midfield, while Franzi Piero and Dean David were placed in the attack.
Estimated composition: Josh Cohen, Raz Meir, Abdulai Sek, Sean Goldberg, Pierre Corneau, Neta Lavie, Ali Muhammad, Muhammad Abu Fani, Chiron Shari, Dean David and Franzi Piero.
Bachar He said before the match: “I hope that Benfica Lisbon will continue the streak of not winning here in Israel, but in any case the feeling of being at home in this factory is very significant. We believe that in Sami Ofer the home advantage will reduce the gaps, even though the current opponent is one of the best teams in Europe.”
“In order to take points we will have to stand up well tactically, do things right and maybe also have a bit of luck. In any case, we believe and should come in the sharpest, most focused way and make a good result. Of course we understand that this is a difficult hurdle, but in Sami Ofer with the crowd, the atmosphere and the players we have then anything is possible.”
“There is no doubt that this is a strong team, which at any given moment can reach situations. We also saw in the league that this is a strong team, they are in first place, they haven’t lost a single game this year, and furthermore, they come in shape and confidence. Bottom line – it will only make us come much more alert. The entire offensive part there is players of the highest level, even defenders who go up and score. A group with many tools, we for our part are already mature and mature to understand the situation and know how to react”.
Nikita Rukavitsa He added about his coach: “I came here to bring Maccabi Haifa back to the top and I’m happy that I was able to do it. A good team was built here and you see it in recent years. By the way, I’m Nikita. In any case, I am not the story here, I will always want to play and will give the best for the team.” Bachar About the striker: “Excellent personality, he hasn’t received many opportunities so far, but I’m sure he will contribute to us later in the season.”
