Maccabi must go ahead in the first leg
Six starting places are still up for grabs in the UEFA Champions League group stage. After many tough qualifying rounds, the twelve teams that still have hopes of participating in the top flight are now in the home stretch. The play-offs are coming up. The first legs will be played this week on Tuesday and Wednesday.
One of the most interesting duels between two national champions will take place in Israel. Maccabi Haifa will meet Red Star Belgrade. According to the odds on the “To-Qualify” market, the Serbs are favourites to progress. At home in the Sammy Ofer Stadium, however, the Israelis must be confident of a good result. On the one hand, because the Bakhar eleven naturally has to come out on top. But also because of their recent impressions in European home games.
The visitors from Belgrade, however, have another advantage that should not be underestimated, because while in their home country Serbia the league has already been running for a few weeks and Crvena zvezda is therefore already much more in the right rhythm, the national duties for the hosts only start next weekend. All in all, it is difficult to predict the outcome of the match between Maccabi Haifa and Red Star Belgrade. Therefore, it seems advisable to switch to an alternative betting market.
Maccabi Haifa – Statistics & current form
It’s been over ten years since Maccabi Haifa have been involved in the Champions League group stage. However, with six defeats in six preliminary round matches and not a single goal scored, the Israelis were eliminated from the 2009/10 competition in last place. The Green-Whites would undoubtedly be prepared for a similarly disappointing performance this season, provided they managed to qualify for the main draw.
Having reached the group stage of the Conference League last season, but also failing to make it through to the intermediate round, Barak Bakhar’s side have gone from strength to strength on the national stage, ultimately winning their second successive championship.
Maccabi Haifa once again rely on home strength
The club, which in 2002/03 became the first Israeli football club ever to make it to the CL group stage, also showed signs of maturity on the international stage in the first two qualifying rounds. Two opponents, Olympiakos Piraeus and Apollon Limassol, have already been eliminated with relative ease. The 4-0 win in Greece and the 4-0 win at home against the Cypriot champions were clear demonstrations of power, which prevents us from betting against the home side on Wednesday evening between Maccabi Haifa and Red Star Belgrade.
Especially the built-up home strength can be used as an argument in favour of the slightly less notable club in this duel. In the qualifiers for the top flight, for example, the Green-Whites have not lost any of their last six home games. During this period, they have won against Borac Banja Luka, Maribor, Genk and Apollon Limassol.
In addition, there is the statistical conspicuousness that in five of the six CL home matches both teams always score. Since there have been a total of twelve goals in the four qualifying matches so far, we can well imagine taking a closer look at the odds on “Both score” or “Over 2.5” in the first leg of the Maccabi Haifa vs Crvena zvezda match. Because the league, as mentioned, has not yet started, the complete focus is on these European Cup matches. With a good crowd behind them, the Israelis can definitely expect a good result on Wednesday.
Predicted line-up of Maccabi Haifa:
Cohen – Menahem, Planic, Goldberg, Arad, Sundgren – Abu Fani, Lavi, David, Atzili – Pierrot
Last matches played by Maccabi Haifa:
Champions League Qualifier
09/08/2022 – Apollon Limassol 2 – 0 Maccabi Haifa
03/08/2022 – Maccabi Haifa 4 – 0 Apollon Limassol
28/07/2022 – Olympiakos Piraeus 0 – 4 Maccabi Haifa
20/07/2022 – Maccabi Haifa 1 – 1 Olympiakos Piraeus
Super Cup
17/07/2022 – Maccabi Haifa (3)1 – 1(4) Hapoel Beer Sheva
Red Star Belgrade – Statistics & Current Form
The last Champions League adventure in the group stage was not so long ago for Red Star Belgrade. In 2019/20, the Serbians qualified for the 32-team field and even repeated their success from the previous 2018/19 season, when they also managed to qualify for Europe’s most important club competition. Even though both attempts ended after the preliminary round, they were great experiences for the entire club.
Experiences that certainly also led to the Red and Whites being able to put in decent performances in the Europa League in the last two seasons. In 2021/22, they made it to the round of 16; the year before, they made it to the intermediate round. On balance, however, the Serbians have experienced far more at international level in the recent past than their upcoming opponents. That is one of the reasons why the bookmakers think the serial champions have a slightly better chance of making it to the group stage.
How much does Crvena Zvezda rely on the second leg?
However, it must be said that coach Dejan Stankovic’s team will face their first real test of the season on Wednesday evening. Crvena zvezda won the only two qualifying duels against the Armenian underdog Pyunik with 5:0 and 2:0.
In the league, too, the flagship of Serbian football has not been challenged at all so far. After five match days, they have a maximum of 15 points. A goal difference of 21:1 underlines the dominance on the national stage, which, however, cannot be assessed exclusively positively. Although Stankovic’s team was able to build up a lot of self-confidence thanks to the many victories at the start of the season, a completely different calibre now awaits the Eastern Europeans, who will demand everything from them.
It should also be noted that Red Star have won several knockout matches in recent years thanks to a significant improvement in performance in front of their home crowd. We therefore assume that the guests would already be satisfied with a draw and definitely have in mind that the return match will take place in front of their own frenetic fans next week. Still, Milan Pavkov and Co. will be desperate to score, so our idea of a Maccabi Haifa vs. Red Star Belgrade prediction on both sides scoring goals again takes on significance.
Predicted line-up of Red Star Belgrade:
Borjan – Gobeljic, Milunovic, Dragovic, Erakovic – Kangwa, Sanogo – Katai, Kanga, Bukari – Pavkov
Last matches played by Red Star Belgrade:
1st Division
14/08/2022 – Red Star Belgrade 4 – 0 Vozdovac Belgrade
Champions League Qualification
09/08/2022 – Pjunik Erewan 0 – 2 Red Star Belgrade
04/08/2022 – Red Star Belgrade 5 – 0 Pjunik Erewan
1st Division
30/07/2022 – Red Star Belgrade 6 – 0 FK Radnik Surdulica
25/07/2022 – Mladost Lucani 1 – 2 Red Star Belgrade
Maccabi Haifa – Red Star Belgrade Direct comparison / H2H record
This is the first time these two clubs have faced each other in an official competitive match. For Maccabi Haifa, it is the fifth encounter against a Serbian representative. Maccabi Haifa have only won one of their four previous encounters (three defeats). For Red Star, meanwhile, it is even a premiere, as the cult club from Belgrade has never faced an Israeli opponent before.
Maccabi Haifa – Red Star Belgrade Tip
It’s hard to beat the excitement of the UEFA Champions League play-offs. Many players are closer to their dream than ever before. The financial directors of the clubs can already smell the big pots of meat and the loyal fans are already looking forward to away trips to Paris, Liverpool or Madrid. Only one hurdle still has to be jumped. Traditionally, however, this is by far the highest hurdle to overcome.
In our eyes, it therefore doesn’t really make sense to place a bet on the three-way market. Instead, we have decided to place a bet between Maccabi Haifa and Crvena zvezda that both teams will score. Maccabi need to score at home and will therefore have to take more risks. Red Star will be looking for counter-attacking situations, but definitely have the quality to score at least once as well.
