The 2022/23 league campaign is the 20th season which features a Playoff at the end of the regular season.
This will be the 18th successive league campaign Maccabi will be playing in the Top Playoff which is the highest appearance record amongst all Israeli clubs. Only in the first two seasons of the Playoff being introduced (1987/88 and 1988/89) Maccabi featured in the top flight’s second tier Playoff.
Hapoel Be’ersheva has the second longest successive run in the Top Playoff (after Maccabi) as this campaign will be their 10th in succession.
Maccabi’s highest victory in the Playoff was a 7-0 win over Beitar Jerusalem recorded in the 2000/01 campaign. Avi Nimni (2), Rodrigo Goldberg (2), Dedi Ben Dayan, Guy Zarfati and Baruch Dego scored Maccabi’s goals.
The highest attendance ever in the Playoff was 33,000 fans recorded at the championship crowning match of the 2012/13 season against Ramat Hasharon at the Ramat Gan national stadium. Maccabi secured the league title with a 2-0 victory four matches before the end of the season.
Saturday’s opponents Maccabi Netanya faced Maccabi in the Top Playoff on 7 occasions (1991, 1992, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019 and in 2021/22). Maccabi’s record against Netanya in the Playoff currently stands on 8 victories, 3 draws and 1 defeat.
Since the introduction of the Playoff under the current format in 11 seasons ago (2012/13) the top flight has kept its’ structure for the longest stretch of time in Israel’s history.
In 100 Playoff matches since the 2012/13 season, Maccabi won 52, drawn 30 and lost 18 with a total goal tally of 165-87.
Maccabi’s record in the opening Playoff match over the past 10 seasons currently stands on: 7 victories, 2 draws and a single defeat with a goal tally of 14-14.
Of the 6 teams to have qualified to the top playoff: Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Be’ersheva, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Netanya, Ashdod and Hapoel Jerusalem – only the latter will be making their first ever appearance in the top Playoff.
Maccabi’s most successful Playoff campaigns were in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons both resulting with 23 points (7 victories, 2 draws and 1 defeat). Maccabi also had an unbeaten Playoff campaign in 2015/16 season which resulted with 20 points (5 victories and 5 draws).
The top goal scorer for Maccabi in the Playoff is Eran Zahavi with 31 goals to his name since the 2012/13 season.
