The forthcoming encounter will be the 50^th match both teams face each other in the league at Bloomfield stadium with Maccabi winning 19 losing 13 while 17 matches ended in a draw.

Maccabi has an unbeaten home record against the Haifaites at Bloomfield which stretches for 16 successive matches – winning 12 and drawing 4 with a goal tally of 33-11.

Maccabi and Haifa faced each other 173 times in the league of which Maccabi won 72, lost 50 while 51 matches ended in draws. The total goal tally currently stands on 253-215.

When it comes to home matches, Maccabi hosted Haifa in 88 league matches winning 45, losing 18 and drawing 25. The goal tally at home matches is also in Maccabi’s favor 137 for and 80 against.

Maccabi are unbeaten in the their last 11 home matches against Haifa winning 8 and drawing 3 which is the second longest run against the Greens. The longest run was recorded in the 1981/82 season – 12 unbeaten home matches.

To date, 399 players featured against Haifa in the league. Sheran Yeini holds the club’s appearance record with 42 matches against Haifa which is also the best all-time record for a Maccabi player against any opponent.

Eran Zahavi’s brace in the previous meeting between the two sides took his tally against Haifa to 12 strikes. Beitar Jerusalem and Bnei Sakhnin (13) are the only other opponents that Zahavi scored more goals against.

Haifa’s coach, Barak Bakhar, faced Maccabi 37 times of with he lost 15 matches, won 10 and drawn 12.

Since the current league format was introduced in the 2012/13 season, and following Haifa featuring in the bottom Playoff (2017/18) – Maccabi faced Haifa 18 times in the top playoff. The Playoff record of matches between the two sides currently stands on 9 Maccabi victories and 9 draws with a goal tally of 31-12.

 

Preview

Maccabi return to league action after a two week international break as Aitor Karanka’s charges travel to Teddy stadium for a match against Hapoel Jerusalem on MD28 of the ONE ZERO League.

Maccabi’s 2-0 victory over Maccabi Netanya had the Playoff get underway with a positive start as it took the point tally to 55 – ten adrift of leaders Maccabi Haifa and 6 behind Hapoel Be’ersheva. On the day the top two face each other, Maccabi will aim to capitalize and narrow the gap before hosting Haifa on Tuesday and travelling to Be’ersheva the following Monday.

The 2-1 defeat to Hapoel Jerusalem at Bloomfield on MD25 which helped Ziv Ariye’s side secure a top Playoff berth, is still fresh in the memories of everyone at Maccabi which will be desperate to avenge that defeat. Since then, Jerusalem lost twice to Maccabi Bnei Reineh and Be’ersheva both by a solitary goal and are currently fifth in the table with 36 points.

Karanka made two changes from the side which beat Netanya as he welcomed back into the side both Eyal Golasa and Gabi Kanichowsky in place of Dan Glazer and the injured Parfait Guiagon.

There were no changes in defence as Derrick Luckassen and Enric Saborit lined up in front of goalkeeper Daniel Peretz with Andre Geraldes and Ofir Davidzada completing the back four on the right and left respectively. Golasa joined Dor Peretz in the midfield engine room with Kanichowsky and Dan Biton on both wings. Eran Zahavi led the team out wearing the captain’s armband as the veteran marksman partnered Djordje Jovanovic upfront.

On the bench, with Daniel Tenenbaum still nursing a back injury, Karanka, named Tomer Alon as the substitute keeper with Rares Ilie, Avi Rikan, Yonatan Cohen, Maor Kandil, Shahar Piven, Dor Turgeman and Nir Bitton all waiting for their chance.

First Half

Maccabi got off to a flying start and took the lead with less than a minute on the clock as Djordje Jovanovic scored his 15th league goal. Gabi Kanichowsky won a tackle right on the halfway line before releasing Eran Zahavi who picked Dan Biton just in-front of the area. Biton squared the ball to Jovanovic whose attempt of a shot deflected off a Jerusalem defender to catch Adeley Adebayo off-guard and break the deadlock. Five minutes later Biton tried his luck with a left foot effort of his own but this time Adebayo collected with ease.

Jovanovic thought he had scored a second as a counter attack Biton led for half the length of the pitch resulted with an Eran Zahavi effort blocked. Zahavi and Gabi Kanichowsky tried reaching the rebound before Jovanovic blasted it home but VAR disallowed the goal for an alleged offside.

Eyal Golasa forced Adebayo to a spectacular save as Maccabi’s midfielder sent a shot from the edge of the area which was making its way into the top corner on 36. Enric Saborit went into the referee’s book for a foul on William Togui in the 42nd minute.

Second Half

The second half began exactly like the first as Biton led a counter attack and was fouled inside the center circle by Amit Glazer. Fuxman initially showed the Maccabi loanee a yellow card but following the intervention of VAR changed his decision to red leaving Jerusalem with 10 men. Karanka reacted almost instantly as he introduced Rares Ilie for Jovanovic while his counterpart Ziv Ariye sent Yoav Tomer in for Togui.

Zahavi had a close range effort saved by Adebayo before being fouled on the edge of the area in the 66th minute. Biton tried curling the free kick with his left but somehow his shot was blocked by none other than Golasa. Karanka made his second substitution as Avi Rikan replaced Biton who was given a standing ovation in the 77th minute. Seconds later, Zahavi had another effort denied by Adebayo, this time a close range diving header.

In the 88th minute Karanka made a double change as Andre Geraldes and Kanichowsky were both replaced by Maor Kandil and Yonatan Cohen for the closing stages. Inside injury time Zahavi doubled the score with a fierce low drive which went in off the post to seal the victory.

hortly after scoring his 17th league goal with a late injury time strike on the way to a 2-0 victory away to Hapoel Jerusalem, Eran Zahavi said: “We scored our first goal very early in the first half, and it took us a while to get the second but Hapoel Jerusalem stood and defended very well”.

Zahavi, who was denied several times in the second half by Jerusalem’s keeper before scoring deep inside injury time, added: “We created plenty of chances and I don’t remember them creating any at all as the most important thing is to take the three points and return home. We had an overall good game, especially in the first half. In the second half we felt a little comfortable but at the same time we didn’t let them reach a single dangerous chance. In the end you can’t just dance on the pitch all the time, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t. The most important thing is to collect the three points and I am very happy.”

When asked about his belief in still competing in the title race, Zahavi, who is aware his side are 10 points behind the leaders, insisted: “It is no longer in our hands, but what is in our hands is to do our best in every game, until the end of the season. I really believe in this team, and we need to look at things on a game by game basis. We are to blame that it is no longer in our hands, but we must do our best certainly on Tuesday when we play at Bloomfield for our honor and pride. Such matches are fun to play in, also because of our fans and I expect them to raise Bloomfield in the air. We will try do our best on the pitch.”

“Everyone wearing the shirt of Maccabi Tel Aviv must be committed in every training session and every match and give a 100%” Zahavi added, “No one guarantees a championship and titles every season, there are better seasons and worse ones. But in the end, Maccabi’s players must be the best they possibly can from the first to the last second of the season. We still have the Cup to play for and we will keep on fighting in the league until the end.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv resume the ONE ZERO League Playoff with a tough trip away to Hapoel Jerusalem on MD28. On the even of the match, Dor Peretz as well as first team members participated in the food packaging at Bloomfield stadium as part of the ‘Good deeds in Yellow’ initiative by the Maccabi Tel Aviv Foundation and ‘Ahim Lasemel’.

Peretz, said: “It is a superb initiative of the club, the foundation which is testimony to how important there is for work in the community. I am just delighted with the fact that so many people and fans join this initiative. There is a good bond between the club and the fans as I spoke more than once on the fact that the fans ultimately express their feelings at what they see on the pitch, we as players do our best on the pitch, and those in charge of us does their best to guide us and those above him try ensure that the  team and the club reach as far as possible. Sometimes it doesn’t match what the fans expect which in my opinion is also ok. They voice their opinion according to how they see fit, but at the same time I was very happy to see around a 1000 fans turn up here today to take part in this amazing initiative.”

The 27-year-old who scored Israel’s only goal of the international break, with a strike against Kosovo, which was only enough for one point out of a possible six, added: “It always feels good to return to the club the team and your teammates, and fun to enjoy the tempo back in training. To hear the coach has selection headache means is always positive as it means that players are in good form and are looking good – which now leaves us with the task of showing that on the pitch tomorrow.”

Relating to the team’s ambitions for the remainder of the campaign, Peretz said: “We are only focusing on the next match ahead, and as much as it might sound a cliche, if we just win the next game and the next game we could achieve a bigger target. The only thing in my head right now is to show how much quality there is in this team. Scoring goals are always important is it gives you confidence as it feels that suddenly the goal is bigger and wider. Before you score that goal everything seems more difficult but after that goal, other goals always seem to follow as I hope it will be no different now. I had two goals disallowed this season for offsides, and I just wish this goal at the national team will help me score more goals at club level.”

Peretz is confident the victory recorded against Maccabi Netanya before the international break could help the team ahead of the rest of the Playoff: “I don’t think I changed too many things in my game against Netanya but were just very prepared, and as soon as everyone looked good it helped my game as well. I looked good and so did the rest of the team so we must just replicate that against Hapoel Jerusalem – to be aggressive to show desire and try win this match right from the off.”

Peretz, remained adamant that Maccabi hasn’t had the final word this season as he summed up: “I am always optimistic and believe in my and our ability. But it all must start with three points on Saturday against Hapoel Jerusalem and continue with the next three points we will win after that – this is the only way we could progress.”

With Maccabi 10 points adrift of top spot, Peretz insisted: “Calculations? We are not in this place. The gap is big but if we win three points on Saturday we could move on to the next step. We are responsible for where we are now and the points we had dropped. I don’t think that none of our opponents played great football this season and we can go back and look at all the matches between us this season. This could be proof that we might have been too complacent at times which led to us dropping points. But if we come determined and show what we are capable of – I am sure that the quality we have here is enough.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv returns to league action after a two-week long international break with a match away to Hapoel Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium (18:30) on MD28. Shortly after Friday’s final practice, Aitor Karanka as well as members of the first team arrived at Bloomfield stadium to take part in the food packaging for families in need ahead of Passover. The bi-annual ‘Good deeds in Yellow project’ initiated by the Maccabi Tel Aviv Foundation and ‘Ahim Lasemel’ which generated donations of over NIS 400,000 and 2300 food packages for families in need.

Coach Aitor Karanka who knuckled down and assisted in the food packaging, and said: “It is always important to be in touch with our supporters because they are not just important but they are vital for the team and for the club as I said in our worst moments that: ‘we should be together’ and the message today is – keep going together and trust this club because good things will arrive for sure”.

Ahead of the return to action and the fact he has an almost full squad at his disposal, Karanka added: “I knew it as soon as I arrived here and it hasn’t been just the last two weeks. The main target is we have now 26 or 24 players and the keepers to select from and we have no injuries to worry about for the final two months of the season as everyone seems fit”.

With fixtures coming thick and fast, Hapoel Jerusalem away on Saturday followed by Maccabi Haifa at Bloomfield and Hapoel Be’ersheva away at Turner stadium, the Spanish coach said: “We need to think about the following game, and then about the following game on Tuesday, and then the following game on Monday because it is impossible to think for more than one week or 10 days ahead as every game will be important for us both for the league and for the future.”

Having welcomed back six players from international duty, Karanka had a full squad to work with for a couple of days before the match: “We were training today with all the squad and were just missing Idan Nachmias who is still recovering from his knee injury and goalkeeper Daniel Tenenbaum (back) but the rest of the players are all well. We had two weeks to work but were missing six players for international duty. On the one hand this is good news because when you have six national team players it is good but on the other hand you can’t work in the way you would like to work. The atmosphere is good as every knows they have a good chance to play and it is good time for both present and especially the future.”

On his team’s achievement so far, Karnaka said: ”When Maccabi is doing well, I didn’t find an opponent better than us, but at present we must maintain a perfect record and can’t afford to make any mistakes which could prove to be a problem. I remember in that game that everybody just exploded because the situation of the team and the club wasn’t how everyone wanted. Now however, we are working for the present and working for the future and we have to think about tomorrow’s game. We have nine very important matches ahead of us and one more Semi Final in the State Cup so we must focus on that.”