The second phase of the TASE Premier League is nearing its close and on Saturday, Maccabi Tel Aviv face another tough test at Sammy Ofer Stadium, this time against Hapoel Haifa in the 23rd round.
Maccabi lead the standings by five points from second-placed Maccabi Haifa and Vladimir Ivic’s players will hope to at least temporarily increase the gap to eight points. Maccabi Haifa will be in action on Monday against Beitar Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium.
But Ivic will have to make do without the services of Dan Glazer, who is serving a one-match ban after accruing five yellow cards. 
The game will also be the first since the closing of the mid-season transfer window and Maccabi have released Eliran Atar and Aaron Schoenfeld.
The last meeting between these two sides was one of Maccabi’s best performances of the season and they won 3-0 at Bloomfield.
