European strugglers Hapoel Be'er Sheva can ill afford any further slip-ups as they take on an OFI Crete side who are looking to avoid a third successive UEFA Europa League defeat.
Match News and Current Form
Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s 5-2 thrashing of Maccabi Petah Tikva means they have won six successive domestic fixtures, firing in 17 goals in the process. Continental football remains a struggle for the Camels though, with their last nine major European matches yielding just one victory (D5, L3), and that came back in 2022! A 4-0 hammering by Royale Union SG on matchday three leaves Ran Kozuch’s men with one point from three games (D1, L2), but hopes of a revival here come from the fact the Israeli outfit have only lost one of their last 12 designated home games in Europe (W5, D6), albeit the majority of those - like this one - have been played on neutral territory.
OFI Crete will hope that a narrow 1-0 win over Panetolikos at the weekend signifies an upturn in form for a team who had lost five of their previous six matches (W1). That run includes a pair of reversals in this competition, most recently 2-0 against Bayer Leverkusen, which leaves the Greek club at risk of losing three successive major European matches for the first time. They have picked up one victory so far, beating Hoffenheim 2-0 on match day one, but expectations may be low for this clash, given Christos Kontis’ side are on a run of five defeats in eight on the road (W2, D1).
Head-to-Head History
Hapoel Be’er Sheva have only beaten Greek sides once in six attempts (D2, L3), whereas OFI are facing an Israeli team for the first time.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Hapoel have taken the joint-second fewest number of corners ahead of this round (seven).
The five shots off target registered by Hapoel are a tournament low.
Only one team in the competition has had fewer shots on target than OFI (six).
OFI have drawn the most fouls (55) ahead of matchday four.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Only one goalkeeper in the competition has made more saves than Hapoel’s Ofir Marciano ahead of this round (18), although he has only kept one clean sheet in three attempts. OFI will be hoping Thiago Nuss can extend his run of winning nine of the last ten matches he has scored in (L1).
Hapoel’s Lucas Ventura looks likely to remain absent with a thigh issue, while OFI’s lengthy injury list is likely to include Pavlos Kenourgiakis and Nikos Christogeorgos.
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Betting Analysis
This is a tough match to call, but both teams to score seems highly plausible.
Author: Matt Jones