Many leagues have begun their winter break while in England they are getting prepared for the Boxing Day matches. In Israel, we are getting ready for the second round of Ligat Ha’Al matches and if you’d like, we can call this the Winter Round.

Maccabi Tel Aviv will begin the second round with an away tilt on Matchday 14 against Hapoel Kfar Saba at Levita Stadium. The Yellow & Blue head into this encounter after defeating Hapoel Haifa away at Sammy Ofer Stadium and they have one clear goal in mind: to continue their winning ways. Kfar Saba is currently in 10th place with 13 points just two above the relegation zone following a 2:2 draw against Kiryat Shemona.

Maccabi enter the contest ten points behind the defending champions Hapoel Beer Sheva, but Haris Medunjanin had a clear message to the rest of the league: “We will fight until the end, but we know that ten points is quite a lot especially since they (Beer Sheva) are playing so well. We still believe in our team and we will fight until the end and see where we are at.”

Head Coach Shota Arveladze also commented on the current situation: “I don’t agree with the statement that teams aren’t afraid to play Maccabi anymore. Most of them play with ten men behind the ball. I have to give them credit, defending well is not easy.”

Did you know?

Maccabi won the first match between the clubs on Opening Day, 3:1 thanks to a brace by Tal Ben Chaim and a goal by Eden Ben Basat. The game took place at Teddy Stadium due to a radius penalty that was handed down to the Yellow & Blue.

Last season Maccabi Tel Aviv ended the first round with a goalless draw against Hapoel Kfar Saba and maintained the league lead thanks to a better goal differential than Hapoel Beer Sheva.

Maccabi’s biggest away win against Hapoel Kfar Saba at Levita Stadium occurred in 1998/99 under the direction of Avram Grant beating the Sharon Greens 5:0. Polish striker Andrej Kubica scored a pair of goals and won the league’s scoring title that same campaign.

Maccabi Tel Aviv have opened the second round twice against Hapoel Kfar Saba back in 1982/83 and 1997/98 with both matches ending in a draw.

Haris Medunjanin scored his first goal with Maccabi in his second time around with the Club against Hapoel Kfar Saba at Levita Stadium in a 3:0 win.

One of the players Maccabi loaned out this season, Mavis Tchibota leads Hapoel Kfar Saba in goals with four this season.