Last round Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Acre 5:2 which included some goals that were up for the Goal of the Season.

Since the last time the two sides met there were changes amongst the personnel of the northern squad including the head coach. Jordi Cruyff’s team will look to remain in first place for the second straight Matchday.

Although it’s unclear as to who will be in the Starting XI, the style of game will be different compared to last week’s contest against Hapoel Beer Sheva as Acre is fighting to stay up in the league and will come in with a very defensive system. Last match against the northern outfit, Eliran Atar scored a hat trick marking his 10th goal in 11 contests against them.

“It’s difficult to find the holes and paths to create and then it’s important to score a goal,” Cruyff commented. “I think we are ready for the game and we know how important it is. When we lose the ball we have to press quick. When we have that attitude we tend to get good results.”

Ofir Davidzada also spoke about the upcoming contest against Acre, “The professional staff always prepares us well for each and every match. We know that this will be a tough defensive match and if we break them down then the game will open up and we can take advantage of that.”

Focused on winning the match:
“If we come into the game and we don’t give it our all then we will not get the result that we need. We have to come in prepared and focused in order to win and take the points.”

Some numbers:
The club’s have met 19 times in league action. The record: 13 Maccabi wins, 2 Acre victories, 4 draws. The last ten contests have ended in Maccabi victories.

The 5:2 result last match between the two was Maccabi’s biggest win this season while the two prior contest’s finished in 5:0 victories in 2013/14 and 2015/16.