Monday’s league encounter at Sammy Ofer will be the 177th league match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa in what has become the most played league fixture in the Israeli top-flight.
Maccabi won 72 of these matches, Haifa won 52, while 52 other matches ended in a draw while the total goal tally currently stands on 255-220.
Since Haifa switched from Kiryat Eliezer to Sammy Ofer both sides met each other in the league on 17 occasions. Maccabi won 8, lost 3 and 6 other matches were drawn with a goal tally of 29-21.
Maccabi won 8 of the last 10 league matches which were played in the second league round while the other two ended in a draw and a defeat.
Amongst those second-round matches, are the memorable:
Last season’s 3-0 win at Bloomfield: Eran Zahavi (2), Parfait Guiagon.
The dramatic 4-3 victory in the 2019/20 season at Sammy Ofer.
The 3-1 victory in the 2017/18 season when Vidar Kjaratansson scoring after 13 seconds.
The first encounter between the sides at Sammy Ofer in 2014/15 with Eran Zahavi scoring the only goal of the game.
Monday’s match will be the first time in history Maccabi faces Haifa three times in less than a month (26 days). In the 2015/16 season Maccabi played Haifa three times in the space of 37 days – a 0-0 draw at Haifa in the Playoff, a 6-0 win in the corresponding fixture at Bloomfield which was followed by a 0-1 defeat in the Stated Cup Final at Teddy stadium.
Maccabi played the same opponent three times in less than a month on 16 occasions. In 2015 Maccabi played Ironi Kiryat Shmona three times in the space 16 days. A 0-0 draw in the league was followed by the 1st leg of the State Cup Quarter Final (1-1) while seven days later Maccabi won the return leg 3-0 on the way to winning the Cup in the historic treble season.
