The UEFA Champions League playoff sees the Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa host Serbian champions Red Star at the Sammy Ofer Stadium with a spot in the group stage on the line. It’s been a perfect start to the season for Red Star who now have seven wins from seven matches across all competitions. The Serbian Superliga champions got to this stage of the competition after a dominant 7-0 aggregate scoreline against Armenian club Pyunik Yerevan in the last round. They’ll come up against a Maccabi Haifa side about to kick off the new domestic season with the start of the Israeli Ligat ha’Al coming just three days after this fixture. Haifa got past Cypriot club Apollon Limassol by an aggregate scoreline of 4-2 in the last round thanks to a dominant 4-0 home performance. Haifa has a record of 2-2-1 in competitive fixtures so far this season which includes a win and two draws on home soil.
Maccabi Haifa will take a four-day rest advantage into this match as Red Star last played on the 13th in a 4-0 Superliga win over Vozdovac. However, Red Star has been on an absolute tear to start the season and the relatively short turnaround could work in their favor as they look to keep up the momentum. Crveno-beli have been scoring goals for fun in their opening seven fixtures, finding the back of the net on 28 occasions. Not to be overshadowed, Red Star’s defense has been stalwart, conceding only one goal in their current seven match winning run. Haifa will be hoping their home field advantage will be enough to push them over the line against stiff opposition but they have seen setbacks at the Sammy Ofer Stadium to start the season. A 1-1 home draw in the Super Cup followed by a 1-1 home draw against Olympicaos suggests they could struggle with a talented Red Star team.