Maccabi Haifa and Juventus, who compete against one another in Group H, will meet once again on Tuesday at Sammy Ofer Stadium to determine the destiny of both teams in the Champions League.
This match takes place only six days after their first meeting in Turin. Although Juventus have lost four of their most recent seven matches in total, they won their match last week by a score of 3-1, which moved them three points ahead of the Israeli champions in the standings.
Match Preview: Maccabi Haifa vs Juventus
Juventus was at the bottom of Group H with nil points after two Champions League matches in 2022-23.
Given PSG and Benfica’s six-point advantage, a win at the Allianz Stadium was needed to catch them. Max Allegri’s team struggled to win.
Angel Di Maria led Juve to a 3-1 triumph despite two post-goals and a 75th-minute equalizer. If Dusan Vlahovic’s shooting had been better, he may have had five assists. Milan missed Di Maria in Saturday’s defeat.
Juventus lost 2-0 to the Italian champions at San Siro but hardly threatened. Rafael Leao struck the post twice as they lost to a title contender.
Juve is sixth in Serie A after nine games, so reclaiming the Scudetto seems light-years away. Their fall is primarily due to poor away form: they have two points from four travels and lost in Paris.
Juventus has not won their first four league away games in 40 years. They trail Group H’s leaders by four points after Benfica and PSG drew last week, so they must win in Israel to advance.
Maccabi Haifa lost all three-group stage matches against Juventus, 1-0 at home and away. Last week, they noticed enough flaws in Juventus’ armor to hope for a draw.
Dean David’s goal in Turin gives the Greens hope for their return to Sammy Ofer Stadium.
Haifa has lost nine Champions League group games and scored twice, so they are long shots to beat their visitors and advance in the Europa League.
After winning the Israeli Premier League last year, Barak Bakhar’s squad qualified in the second round this summer. Even if they lose next month, they will return next year.
Despite losing 1-0 to Maccabi Bnei Raina on Saturday, they remain domestic leaders and seek to make Champions League history.
Team News: Maccabi Haifa vs Juventus
Juventus’ key creative Angel Di Maria will return from a domestic ban that forced him to miss the team’s victory over Bologna and Saturday’s loss to Milan, which must come as a comfort to the under-fire Max Allegri.
The Bianconeri are planning to make changes from the team that was thoroughly defeated at San Siro as they enter the last two games of a vital fortnight, which include a trip to Haifa and the Turin derby.
Therefore, Di Maria and Leandro Paredes, or even juvenile midfielder Fabio Miretti, might replace the overworked Manuel Locatelli and Arkadiusz Milik.
With Mattia De Sciglio out due to a thigh injury sustained in last week’s rematch, Alex Sandro might start on the left side once again. However, if Allegri goes with a 3-5-2, Filip Kostic could start on the wing instead.
Paul Pogba and Federico Chiesa, who have both been out for quite some time, are still not back with the team, though Chiesa has just resumed training.
After making significant contributions off the bench in Turin, Omer Atzili and Dean David are vying for a spot in the starting lineup for the home side, which might spell trouble for Mavis Tchibota.
Midfielders Tjaronn Chery (Maccabi Haifa captain) and Mohammad Abu Fani (Israel national team) will play, while Mahmoud Jaber and Suf Podgoreanu (injured again) will not be available.
- Maccabi Haifa Possible Starting Lineup: Chery, Mohamed, Batubinsika, Pierrot, Atzili, Seck, Cornud, Goldberg, Cohen, Sundgren, Fani.
- Juventus Possible Starting Lineup: Di Rabiot, Bremer, Paredes, Sandro, Szczesny, Maria, McKennie, Kostic, Danilo, Vlahovic, Bonucci.
Our Prediction: Maccabi Haifa 2-2 Juventus
Given that Juventus have struggled to keep a tidy sheet from any of their last five Champions League matches. So that they allowed Haifa to have 20 shots at goal in Turin. The home team should anticipate scoring at least once in front of their fans.
They should anticipate that Haifa will have 20 shots at goal. The guests are in a very precarious position right now, and their problems may become much worse on Tuesday.