The Big Tel Aviv Derby is back and on Sunday at 21:00 Maccabi will host Hapoel at the Netanya Stadium in the first league Derby of the season. Shota Arveladze and Gal Alberman looked ahead to their Matchday Five clash as the Georgian boss’s comments are in English in the video while a transcript of Alberman is below:

Gal Alberman: “The Derby always has extra meaning and the three points are very important to us. We are working hard to pick up each and every point. We really aren’t focussing on the opponent at all.”

Favorites:

“In the years I’ve been here, there have season’s when one side was much more dominant and I don’t really remember ever having played in an easy Derby. The small details decide these games and that’s what the case will be tomorrow.”

Rivalry with Beer Sheva:

“We are dealing with football. The media enjoys a good battle at the top of the table and there are some very good quality teams, but we are concentrating on our work on the pitch. Since Eran and other players left we have been trying to fill their void. This is what we are dealing with.”

Maccabi after Eran Zahavi:

“We all worked together as a team even when Eran was here. His influence has certainly positively affected some of the players and we knew that we would find solutions both on and off of the pitch. Scarione and Vidar didn’t come in to necessarily replace Eran. They came to complete a newly built team. As of now we’re happy with the results and we are continuously striving to improve.”