Maccabi Tel Aviv – Sarpsborg 08 Prediction & Picks (30.08.2018)

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Sarpsborg 08 face each other at Winner Stadium, in a return match of this UEFA Europa League (Play-offs) phase, after in the first leg the Sarpsborg 08 won at home by (3-1) ). Attention to the home factor, since the Maccabi Tel Aviv usually conquer different results at home and abroad.

Maccabi Tel Aviv:

The home team comes to this second leg with a disadvantage of 2 goals, but with the advantage of having scored 1 goal as a visitor in the first leg. This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 4 wins, 7 draws and 4 losses in away matches; against 12 wins and 3 losses at their stadium. The team comes to this match after a home victory over Maccabi Haifa by (2-0). In the last 10 home matches for all competitions, Maccabi Tel Aviv has won 8 and lost 2. Their offense has scored frequently, since they have scored goals in 6 of the last 7 matches for this competition. In 9 matches, they got the comeback in 2 of the 4 matches in which they suffered the first goal.

Maccabi Tel Aviv arrive at this lively match, having won at home to Haifa, 2-0, in a match for the Israel Championship. We remember that the Israelis lost in the first leg of the Europa League play-offs, 3-1, however, the goal scored away from home gives hope to this team. For needing to win, coach Vladimir Ivic must enter a field with a very offensive team, in a medium or high block, looking to take advantage of any mistake of the opponent to score. Eliran Atar is the player that stands out, with 4 goals scored in these qualifiers. There are no absences of weight for this game.

Sarpsborg 08:

The away team comes to this second leg with a 2-goal lead, but suffered 1 goal at home in the first leg. This is a team that shows similar results at home and abroad, so it is not usually affected by the home factor, as in the last 30 matches they register 7 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses in away matches; against 9 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses at their stadium. In the last match that they disputed, for the Eliteserien, they lost with Kristiansund BK at home (1-2). In the last 10 away matches Sarpsborg 08 has won 5, tied 1 and lost 4. Their attack has scored regularly, since they have scored at least one goal in each of the last 7 matches for this competition. In their away matches there is a tendency for goals, since 33 of the last 50 matches have ended with Over 2,5 goals. This is a team that usually does not feel difficult to open the scoring: it scored the first goal in 12 of the last 15 games, of these 12 it reached the break in advantage in 7 and managed to maintain the advantage until the end of the 90 ‘in 8 There is 1 period highlighted in the last 11 away matches for all competitions: he scored 5 of his 14 goals between the minutes (76’-90 ‘).

Sarpsborg of Norway showed that this competition is very important for the team, since in the last match of the championship has saved some players for this decisive game against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Despite the 3-1 victory in the first leg, the Norwegians suffered a goal that could compromise their plans in this match. In this way, it is guessed that the coach Geir Bakke opts for a lower and more compact defense, exploring any space to apply the counterattack. Patrick Mortensen is the great individual highlight of this formation, being a very powerful and strong player in the finalization. To which everything indicates the entire template is available for this game.