Maccabi Haifa – Olympiakos
Maccabi Haifa hosts Olympiakos at the Ofer Stadium in a first leg from the second round of the Champions League qualifications. We can advice you to remain with us and these soccer tips we will present you.
Maccabi Haifa are chasing the Champions League after winning the Israeli league for a 14th time in their history. For the club it was a second consecutive title as well. We can say that Barak Bakhar is doing an excellent job since coaching the team. Now his most significant goal is to qualify Maccabi to the Champions League group stage for a first time in the club’s history.
The Surinamese Tjaronn Chery remains one of the most dangerous players in Maccabi Haifa’s squad. The 34-years old veteran scored 13 goals in all competitions last season. Since joining Maccabi in 2019, Chery is a constant danger for the opposition teams.
This summer the Israeli club added a shiny new striker to their team, though. This is the Haitian striker Frantzdy Pierrot who joined the Israeli champions from Ligue 2 side Guingamp. Last seaon Pierrot scored 15 league goals for the French side and catched Maccabi’s eye.
Few days ago Maccabi Haifa started their 2022/23 season in disappointing way. They faced Hapoel Be’er Sheva in a match for the Israeli Super Cup, but suffered a defeat after penalties. Omer Atzili opened the score for Maccabi in the first minute, but 20 minutes before the end Hapoel successfully equalised. Now Maccabi’s fans will hope for something better in Europe.
Olympiakos are not a club that needs an introduction. They are dominating Greek soccer with their 47 domestic titles which is an absolute record. “Thrylos” are currently coached by the Portuguese manager Pedro Martins who arrived at the club in 2018. And he’s really enjoying his time in Greece.
On the transfer market Olympiakos made some strong signings. They paid 5 million euro for Aris’ striker Aboubakar Kamara while Watford’s Danish winger Philip Zinckeragel also joined. But arguably the most famous name who joined Olympiakos this summer is the Croatian international Sime Vrsaljko. A World Cup finalist in 2018, Vrsaljko moves to Greece after a spell with Atletico Madrid. He’s going to strengthen the team’s right-back position as he’s just 30-years old – the Croatian is far from finished playing on top level.
One of Olympiakos’ most impressive areas is their defense. The club currently has two of the biggest center-backs in Greek soccer at the moment – Kostas Manolas and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. This gives them a lot of security at the back while players like Mathieu Valbuena, Yann M’Vila and Tiquinho do not need any introduction as well.
That’s the soccer tips we can offer you for the Champions League qualifying game between Maccabi Haifa and Olympiakos. Surely the Greek side has an enormous experience in European soccer which makes them favorites. At the same time don’t underestimate Maccabi – they won the title in Israel for two consecutive seasons which means they are not a club to joke with.