Tottenham Hotspur’s strenuous run of fixtures continues as they lock horns with Maccabi Haifa, in the qualifying playoff match for the UEFA Europa League. The Lilywhites will have an opportunity to seal a ticket to the group stage if they manage to secure a victory at home on Thursday.
When is the Match between Tottenham Hotspur and Maccabi Haifa ?
The match will take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday.
Kick Off Time
The match will start 8pm BST. It will be played behind closed door due to the current guidelines regarding Covid-19.
Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Jose Mourinho has some big decisions to make as his team are due to face his former employers Manchester United on Sunday. The Portuguese tactician has already been dealt a massive injury blow to star player Son Heung-min, who has been ruled out throughout the rest of the week alongside new signing Gareth Bale.
Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Hart; Doherty, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Davies; Winks, Hojbjerg; Lucas Moura, Lo Celso, Bergwijn; Kane
Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa boss Barak Bakhar interestingly employed a wing-back system in last round’s fixture against FC Rostov. However, he might shift back to a familiar 4-2-3-1 in order to mirror Tottenham’s formation.
Fortunately for the Israeli coach, he doesn’t have to deal with any injury-related absentees either, although he is missing one player in Yanic Wildschut, who contracted Covid-19 earlier this month and should remain unavailable.
Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Cohen; Mabouka, Habshi, Arad, Menahem; Abu Fani, Lavi; Chery, Ashkenazi, Haziza; Rukavytsya
Tottenham Hotspur vs Maccabi Haifa Head-to-Head and Results
Thursday night’s match will be the first-ever meeting between these two clubs.
Key Stats
Thursday night’s match will be the first-ever meeting between Tottenham Hotspur and Maccabi Haifa.
Maccabi Haifa have enjoyed some memorable nights in Europe, famously beating Manchester United 3-0 in 2002 and also reaching the Champions League group stage in 2009.
Maccabi Haifa have been runners-up in Israel’s top flight for the past two seasons and have started well this term, seeing off Hapoel Beer Sheva 3-1 last time out in that competition.
Maccabi Haifa have been drawing at half time and winning at full time in their last 3 matches.
Nikita Rukavytsya is the key man for Maccabi Haifa, having been involved in ten goals in all competitions so far this season.
