The Tel Aviv derby is back and the atmosphere in the city is hotter than ever. Tonight (Saturday 20:00) Hapoel and Maccabi will arrive in Bloomfield, when this time the Yellows are not at their best and it seems that the Reds are able to surprise with the support of a large crowd. Is this the first egalitarian derby in years? Just before the game, we analyzed the situation in both teams.
Although Hapoel Tel Aviv has not beaten this opponent in the last 16 meetings between the teams, there is an awakening on the red side. Since Kobe Medicine came to the team in place of Nir Klinger he has managed to record five wins in six consecutive rounds, having not won at all in the previous six league games. With 16 points out of 18 possible, Hapoel Tel Aviv even beat its city rival in the table for a few days, but recently the team looks less good and they lost to both Hapoel Hadera and Bnei Sakhnin.
Unlike the Reds, the Maccabi Tel Aviv players have won their last two league games, taken back third place and even opened a five-point gap from Hapoel. Although it does not show high ability, Maccabi Tel Aviv still records only one league loss in the last 14 rounds, and it was the leader Maccabi Haifa.
“Kobe Medicine came in a storm and brought enthusiasm and victories, but slowly his players came back to reality,” he said. Gili Vermouth. “His points accumulation rate at first was amazing. Everyone was sure they would run to the top by the end of the season, but now they are after two consecutive losses, so their stay in the top playoffs is no longer so guaranteed, although I believe they will be there eventually. “Things are starting to connect with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and we see that even if the victories do not come easily, they still take points and it is important to know how to do that as well. Maccabi is relatively better at the moment, but if they had met two weeks ago – it would have looked different.”
The actual situation
Hapoel Tel Aviv is suffering from instability in the defensive squad, much due to the absence of Sianda Kolo who has not been a partner in the last two games. In the last game Muhammad Traore started, but if his voice comes back and plays alongside Eddie Gottlieb, it will surely help. While Doron Leidner is strong in the lineup, Ben Bitton did not show high ability in the last round in Sakhnin, so in the half of the game he was even replaced by Alon Azogi.
If the headache was recently mostly in defense, then also regarding the question of who will play in the middle it is possible that medicine has hesitations. In the center, Dan Einbinder usually plays, with Shlomi Azulai, Shai Eisen or Shai Elias by his side. Each fits into a different style of play, with Azoulay for example able to put in good depth dedication while the others will work harder defensively. In the front, medicine has many more options to use among its players, with Farley Rosa, Osher Davida, Idan Vered, Shlomi Azulai, Yoav Tomer and Marco Yankovich, who recently arrived from Betar Jerusalem.
Yigal Entebbe He analyzed: “Hapoel Tel Aviv has a chance to come out with a victory. Davida, Einbinder, Elias and Rosa are quality players and I think the link could be an interesting matchup against Maccabi’s link. If Hapoel manages to take over the middle, it will be a good game.”
Itzik Zohar Commenting on the change that the man brought to the lines: “Kobi Refuah is an excellent coach who works wonders in teams with small budgets and a less shiny or quality staff. He knows how to get the best out of his players. If Kobi had coached Maccabi Tel Aviv these days, she might have reached There is a desire to be a strong top team but its players know they do not really have the ability for it, and yet the results they have recently achieved and the place they have reached were thanks to the coach. A derby victory can change their whole season The place in the leading quartet. “
Krestich will surprise in the lineup again?
At Maccabi Tel Aviv, Mladen Krastić has not yet found the perfect formula. In almost every game he comes up with a different lineup or lineup. This is not necessarily due to the search for the right method, but mainly from the fact that he does not have 11 strong players and from the fact that the staff suffers from injuries. Shahar Phiben returned to play against Ashdod and was injured, so the coach had to improvise with Enrique Sborit as a brake recently. Krestic played with three brakes, then moved to a 4: 3: 3 lineup, played a 4: 4: 2 diamond, and again changed lineup, realizing that any change he makes hurts the team elsewhere.
It seems that the Serbian coach is preparing tactically for the opponent and is building his squad accordingly, but it is impossible to know how he will play in the derby. In attack, Maccabi Tel Aviv misses a lot. Dan Bitton, Ayalon Almog, Brandley Kubas and Stifa Fritza are not featured. The new acquisition player in the lead, Georgia Juvanovic, appears as a bingo, and together with him the Yellows not only endanger the goal but also much more purposeful. Therefore, it is not inconceivable that this time he will play with Fritza and Juvanovic together in attack, which could cause a lot of trouble for the opponent. In accordance with this decision, he will form the link squad, which can include Dan Glazer, Eyal Golsa, Gabi Kanikovsky, Dan Bitton, Tal Ben Haim or Eden Shamir.
Gili Vermot said: “It seemed until now that Krasteich did not count the break-in, and precisely when the new striker Juvanovic arrived, he tried to combine them and did not want them to be at each other’s expense. It is interesting, for many years Maccabi Tel Aviv did not play with two strikers together “I think the coach is still learning the staff and indeed in every game he comes up with a different lineup and a different lineup, he is constantly re-trying new things.”
According to the former midfielder, who played for both clubs: “Beyond the fact that Krastic is a coach who is not fixed on a particular style and likes to constantly change the team, I’m impressed that he does not really count Brandley Kubas, Eyal Golsa and Sharan Yeni, players who were anchors in the team with other coaches “It surprised me that he was going with Shamir who had not received much credit before, and he did take that chance and proved he deserved to play.”
Itzik Zohar claimed: “When you do not find a permanent method, it means one of two things – either players are not good enough, or they are not fit and then they are also not reflected. Every time Maccabi does not produce a winning streak that will bring them confidence, he will continue to make changes all the time and the players may lose their confidence. In a sense, this derby is a very important game first and foremost for him. It is important for Maccabi to continue its path And create a winning streak because a loss in a derby can put the whole system in a bigger spin. “
Who is the favorite, if any?
So who gets in an advantage position for this game, if at all? Entebbe replied: “There is a change in the atmosphere at Hapoel Tel Aviv, the players have gained more confidence and have looked good since Kobi Refuah arrived. True, there have been rumors recently, but the derby is a completely different game. Are there big level differences between the teams? No. Maccabi does not play the best “It still has excellent players who in one action can win the game. On the other hand, Hapoel also has quality players who do not fall short of them. It will be an open game.”
Vermouth concluded: “In the previous derby, Davida scored an early goal and the game ended 1-1, but in terms of ability on the field? The game was extremely one-sided in favor of Maccabi, partly because Hapoel had ten players left. This time I believe Hapoel will come with a more offensive approach. Kobi Refuah is a more offensive coach than Nir Klinger. In the previous game Maccabi held the ball much more than Hapoel, but I think this derby will look a little different. After many years of yellow control, this time the professional gap between the teams is not that big. The game will develop – Maccabi is still stronger, but Hapoel also has a chance to win the derby. “
Itzik Zohar added: “The derby games during the season are something important in themselves, more than any fight for a place in the playoffs or a fight for the championship. It’s something you grow into and the experience in the derby helps you win games of this kind. “It will give her the moral boost she needs, at least in the first half, and it could be that her motivation will overshadow the professional gap. It will be interesting.”