Maccabi will kick off the New Year against Hapoel Beer Sheva, to be followed by their first season 2014/15 State Cup tie
Monday January 5th – matchweek 16 at home to Hapoel Beer Sheva
8.55pm, live broadcast on Israeli channel 11
One of the hottest match-ups of the season and if the statistics are anything to go by, there's every reason to be optimistic. In every one of the last three seasons, Maccabi have lost the away tie in Beer Sheva only to win in the return fixture at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv. In fact since April of 2011 Maccabi have won all four of their home matches against Hapoel Beer Sheva, scoring fourteen goals and conceding just one. For defender Carlos Garcia, who scored one of those goals last year, it will be his 100th appearance for Maccabi.
Sunday January 11th – matchweek 17 away to Maccabi Haifa
8.55pm, live broadcast on Israeli channel 11
Six days after the momentous encounter with Hapoel Beer Sheva, Maccabi Tel Aviv will face a no less enticing opponent in Maccabi Haifa at "Sammy Ofer" Stadium. After a brief visit last month to host Beitar Jerusalem, this will be Maccabi Tel Aviv's first appearance at the brand new stadium as guests of Maccabi Haifa. The last time Maccabi Tel Aviv debuted at a new stadium in Haifa was in 1955 at Kiryat Eliezer, which Maccabi Tel Aviv won 1-3. That was also the result of the two team's first encounter this season, and the seventh consecutive time Maccabi Tel Aviv have not lost to their northern namesakes.
Wednesday January 14th – State Cup away to Beitar Tel Aviv/Ramle
9pm, live broadcast on Israeli sports channel 58
True, Maccabi's opponent on the night is now more associated with the town of Ramle, where they also play their home games, but a derby is a derby and what better way to celebrate than in an early round of the prestigious State Cup. The two teams have a long history and in the 1976/77 season Maccabi pipped Beitar to the State Cup after winning the final 1-0. Thirty-one years later, after merging with another Tel Aviv club called Shimshon, Beitar got their revenge by knocking Maccabi out at an early stage of the competition by the exact same scoreline.
Saturday January 17th – at home to Hapoel Acre
Live broadcast Israeli sports channel 54
When Acre's Albanian striker Hamdi Salihi scored in injury time in the two clubs' last encounter in October, it ended Maccabi's run of five consecutive clean-sheet victories. Once a bit of a blip on Maccabi's otherwise successful radar screen, Hapoel Acre haven't beaten Maccabi since November 2011, and the only time they've done it at Bloomfield Stadium was in State Cup competition. At the time, Hapoel Acre sat low in Israel's Second Division but managed to score four times against then Maccabi keeper Liran Shtrauber to reach the quarter finals.
January 24th – away to Ashdod FC
Kick-off t.b.a.
In recent years, Ashdod's "Yud Alef" Stadium has always spelt trouble for Maccabi. Last year Maccabi made their exit there in the round 8 of the State Cup and ended a run of four consecutive league victories with a goalless draw. A year earlier a goal scored from a clearly off-side position handed Ashdod victory over Maccabi, their final loss in the 2012/13 championship season. A year before that, goals by Ashdod's David Revivo and Rogers Kola sent Maccabi home empty-handed. Definitely time for a change.
More January events:
2nd – midfielder Nikola Mitrovich's birthday
7th – goalkeeper Barak Levy's birthday
15th – draw for the last 16 of the State Cup
27th / 28th – matchdays for the last 16 of the State Cup
