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Maccabi Haifa will welcome Apollon to the Samer Ofer Stadium in the first leg of third-round qualifying for the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
The home team secured a 5-1 win over Olympiacos in their previous round of fixtures as they took one more step towards qualifying for the group stage for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.
Apollon finished first in the Cypriot First Division last season, which helped them secure a direct place in the third round of the qualifying phase of the competition. They have never qualified for the Champions League and are taking part in the qualifying phase of the competition for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
Maccabi Haifa vs Apollon Head-to-Head
The two sides will be meeting for the first time across all competitions on Wednesday.
Maccabi Haifa form guide (all competitions): W-D-L-L-L
Apollon form guide (all competitions): L-D-L
Maccabi Haifa vs Apollon Team News
Maccabi Haifa
Ben Sahar and Raz Meir are out injured at the moment and have not been included in the squad for the third-round fixtures. Mahmoud Jaber, who missed out on the previous round of fixtures, has been named in the squad this time around but might have to wait until the second leg to make an appearance here.
Injured: Ben Sahar, Raz Meir
Suspended: None
Doubtful: None
Unavailable: None
Apollon
Ilian Iliev picked up a serious injury in training last month and has been left out of the squad for the third-round qualifiers. Giorgos Malekkidis also finds himself sidelined with an injury and will play no part in this fixture.
Injured: Giorgos Malekkidis, Ilian Iliev
Suspended: None
Doubtful: None
Unavailable: None
Maccabi Haifa vs Apollon Predicted XIs
Maccabi Haifa (4-3-3): Josh Cohen (GK); Daniel Sundgren, Bogdan Planić, Sean Goldberg, Pierre Cornud; Ali Mohamed El Fazaz, Tjaronn Chery, Neta Lavi; Dolev Haziza, Dean David, Omer Atzili
Apollon (4-4-2): Aleksandar Jovanović (GK); Vukašin Jovanović, Mathieu Peybernes, Panagiotis Artymatas, Amine Khammas; Elhadji Ba, Hervin Ongenda, Israel Coll, Nicolas Diguiny; Ioannis Pittas, Bagaliy Dabo
$1,100 First Bet Insurance at Caesars
Maccabi Haifa vs Apollon Prediction
Maccabi Haifa scored four times in their previous outing and appear to be in good touch at the moment. They will have home advantage here and will be looking to take the lead on aggregate.
This will be the first competitive game of the season for Apollon and they might be a bit rusty. We expect Maccabi Haifa to secure a narrow victory.
Prediction: Maccabi Haifa 2-1 Apollon
