Maccabi Tel Aviv central defender Eitan Tibi spoke to the media ahead of the team's away clash against Hapoel Kiryat Shmona in the north on Saturday, kickoff at 17:30.

"It's never easy to play against Kiryat Shmona, they are very strong at home and their ground is never an easy place to go to if you want to get a good result, we are preparing for a tough encounter and hoping to win," Tibi said during the pre-match news conference.

Maccabi are also going for the all-time record of not conceding a goal and need 10 more minutes to reach 1,003 minutes to break Maccabi Haifa's 30-year record. The central defender said that of course, that was an important aim against Kiryat Shmona, but that winning was the top priority.

"We are clearly hoping to break the record and not concede a goal, but more important is to win the game," he added, and stressed that the whole team’s ability to put rivals under pressure was a significant factor in Maccabi’s success.

"When the whole team is able to pressurise the opposition it certainly helps the defence and the results speak for themselves."