Israeli side Hapoel Be'er Sheva have virtually settled on their starting line-up for the first leg against Sabah in the Champions League qualifying play-off round.
As reported by İdman.Biz, citing Israeli media, head coach Ran Kozuch is expected to keep faith with the players who started the second leg of the third qualifying round against Red Star Belgrade. No changes to the starting XI are anticipated.
Hapoel's expected line-up: Ofir Marciano, Guy Mizrahi, Pedro Amador, Miguel Vitor, Itay Rotman, Lucas Ventura, Eliel Peretz, Niv Yehoshua, Javon East, Zahi Ahmed and Igor Zlatanovic.
Hapoel's new signing Yonas Malede has also travelled with the team to Bucharest. The 26-year-old striker joined the Israeli champions from Maccabi Tel Aviv and signed a three-year contract.
According to Walla Sport, Hapoel paid around €100,000 for the forward. Malede has already been registered for European competition and could make his debut for the club against Sabah.
The nominal hosts are also expected to receive significant support from the stands. Israeli fans have already begun arriving in the Romanian capital, with around 1,000 Hapoel supporters expected to attend the match.
The game will be held at Giulesti Stadium, the home ground of Romanian club Rapid Bucharest. The venue will serve as Hapoel's neutral home ground, as Israeli clubs continue to play UEFA competition matches outside the country due to the security situation in the Middle East.
In the previous rounds of this season's Champions League qualifiers, the Be'er Sheva side hosted their opponents in Szombathely, Hungary, before moving their European home matches to Romania for the play-off round.
Both teams reached the decisive qualifying stage after impressive results in the previous round. Hapoel defeated Red Star Belgrade twice, winning 1-0 and 2-0.
Sabah, meanwhile, responded to a 2-1 first-leg defeat against Danish side Aarhus by recording a commanding 4-0 victory in Baku. The Azerbaijani club advanced 5-2 on aggregate.
The first leg between Hapoel and Sabah will take place in Bucharest on August 19, with the return fixture scheduled for August 25 in Baku. The winner of the two-legged tie will secure a place in the Champions League league phase.
