Maccabi Haifa and Željezničar meet at Sammy Ofer Stadium, in a match for this phase of the UEFA Europa League (1st Qualifying Round). These two teams have never met before, so this will be their first head-to-head meeting. In this game the home factor may be decisive, as Maccabi Haifa presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor.
Maccabi Haifa :
The home team will make its debut in this edition of the UEFA Europa League with the intention of achieving a positive result, taking advantage of the home factor. This is a team that curiously tends to achieve more positive results as a visitor than at home, since in the last 30 games they have registered 9 victories, 2 draws and 4 defeats as a visitor, with 21 goals scored and 13 suffered; against 7 victories, 3 draws and 5 defeats in his stadium, with 28 goals scored and 14 suffered. The team comes to this match after a away loss against Hapoel Be’er Sheva by (1‑0). In the last 10 matches played at home for all competitions, Maccabi Haifa won 5, drew 2 and lost 3. The team allowed goals to the opponent in 7 of the last 10 matches, so their defense needs to improve, But their attack has scored regularly, having scored goals in 7 of the last 10 games. In 15 games, he never came back in the 5 games in which he suffered the first goal.
Maccabi Haifa part for this game with a 1-0 victory over Hapoel Beer Sheva, in a game for the Israel League Cup. It should be noted that the locals finished the 2019/2020 Israel Championship in second position, thus obtaining access to this phase of the Europa League. Usually the home team chooses to act in a traditional 4-3-3, in which the three most advanced players are Haziza, Sallalich and Rukavytsya. When playing against a lower quality opponent, it is assumed that the home club will present a more offensive stance. Coach Marco Balbul can count on all his players.
Zeljeznicar :
The visiting team will make its debut in this edition of the UEFA Europa League with the intention of achieving a positive result, taking advantage of the home factor. This is a team that presents similar results at home and away, so it is not usually affected by the home factor, since in the last 30 games it has recorded 7 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses as a visitor; against 10 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses in his stadium. In their last match, for the Premier Liga, they lost to Mladost Doboj Kakanj at home by (0‑1). In their last 10 away matches Željezničar has recorded 5 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses. Their defense has been very solid as they have only conceded goals in 3 of the last 10 matches, and their offense has scored regularly, as they have scored goals in 7 of the last 10 matches. There is a tendency to have goals in their away matches, since 15 of the last 16 matches they have played have ended with Over 1.5 goals. This is a team that rarely scores first. Indeed, he failed to open the scoring in any of the last 9 games.
Zeljeznicar comes to this match after a 1-0 reception loss to Mladost DK, in a match for the Bosnia-Herzegovina Championship. The visiting team usually plays 4-4-2, favoring a more leisurely style of play, attacking through the central zone. The two arrows pointed at the opponent’s goal will be Lendric and Juricic and the player responsible for defining and leading his team’s attacks is midfielder Semir Stilic. The visiting coach cannot count on Ikic, Zec, Fejzic, Sadikovic, Bekric and Mujezinovic, players recovering from a health problem.
