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Maccabi Netanya will entertain Istanbul Basaksehir at the Netanya Stadium in the second leg of the second qualifying round for the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday.
The first leg in Istanbul last week ended in a 1-1 draw, so it all comes down to this second and decisive leg. Gil Itzhak gave Maccabi a great start as he opened the scoring in the second minute of the game. They held on to that lead for 81 minutes as Patryk Szysz equalized for the then-hosts.
Plamen Galabov picked up a second yellow card right before the final whistle and will be suspended here. The home team have never qualified for the group stage of a UEFA competition, while Istanbul will be looking to make it to the group stage again after their appearance in the Champions League in the 2020-21 campaign.
Maccabi Netanya vs Istanbul Basaksehir Head-to-Head
The first leg meeting at the Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium was the first time the two sides had crossed paths in a competitive fixture.
Maccabi Netanya form guide (all competitions): D-W-L
Istanbul Basaksehir form guide (all competitions): D-W-D-W-W
Maccabi Netanya vs Istanbul Basaksehir Team News
Maccabi Netanya
Roy Korine and Omri Gandelman have been left out of the squad due to injuries and will play no part in this fixture. Plamen Galabov's red card in the first leg will keep him out of the game. A similar lineup to that of the first leg is expected to be fielded by head coach Benyamin Lam.
Injured: Roy Korine, Omri Gandelman.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: Plamen Galabov.
Unavailable: None.
Istanbul Basaksehir
Mustafa Kutay Pekşen has not been included in the squad for the second round fixtures as he is struggling with an injury at the moment. Mesut Ozil's signing was not completed in time for his registration with UEFA and he remains unavailable for selection, but will be able to play in the next round if they can secure a win here.
Injured: Mustafa Kutay Pekşen.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: Mesut Ozil.
Maccabi Netanya vs Istanbul Basaksehir Predicted XIs
Maccabi Netanya (4-4-2): Itamar Nitzan (GK); Raz Shlomo, Shay Konstantini, Florian Hartherz, Rotem Moshe Keler; Liran Rotman, Boris Takang, Eden Karzev, Daniel Avraham; Gil Itzhak, Patrick Twumasi
Istanbul Basaksehir (4-1-4-1): Volkan Babacan (GK); Junior Caicara, Alexandru Epureanu, Youssouf Ndayishimiye, Berkay Özcan; Lucas Biglia; Lucas Lima, Mahmut Tekdemir, Léo Duarte, Serdar Gürler; Stefano Okaka
$1,100 First Bet Insurance at Caesars
Maccabi Netanya vs Istanbul Basaksehir Prediction
Maccabi will have home advantage here but have never made it past the third round qualifying fixture in a UEFA-affiliated competition. Istanbul did not play in Europe last season and will be gunning to return to the finals this campaign.
They struggled somewhat in the first leg but will count on their rich experience in the competition here. We expect the game to be a closely contested affair, with Istanbul Basaksehir likely to secure a narrow win.
Prediction: Maccabi Netanya 1-2 Istanbul Basaksehir
