Maccabi Haifa vs Villarreal prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-11-08 17:45.
Israel’s Maccabi Haifa will play their first competitive match since early October thanks to the hospitality of Cyprus’ AEK Arena in Larnaca, which will host their UEFA Europa League (UEL) group-stage fixture against Villarreal. With no domestic duties because of the indefinite postponement of the Israeli Premier League, Haifa’s squad flew to Cyprus over the weekend, including the overseas contingent who left Israel at the start of the conflict.
After their Sunday training session in Cyprus, manager Messay Dago declared his side’s “heart is in Israel” in what is sure to be the first of many inspirational addresses amidst the backdrop of war in their native country. Having to regain match sharpness will be an additional challenge for the only team in Group F yet to win a game (D1, L1), who were already considered long shots to progress to the knockouts having lost 23 of their last 32 group-phase encounters (W5, D4) in any UEFA competition since the start of 2009/10 – a run which ironically includes an away defeat in Larnaca.
During the fourth of 14 fixtures scheduled between late October and the Christmas break, 2020/21 UEL champions Villarreal threatened to come from 3-0 down at half-time to snatch a dramatic draw at home to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, but ultimately came up one goal short (L 3-2). Now sitting 13th in La Liga, rumours are swirling around a possible successor to current manager Pacheta, with one publication reporting that former boss Marcelino could be on his way soon.
Villarreal’s inconsistency has been such that each of their last ten competitive games against a top-flight club has produced a different win-draw-loss outcome to the previous one, a pattern Pacheta would be happy to see continue on this particular occasion. The Spanish outfit have won six of their last 12 continental matches outside Spain however (D2, L4), so should be confident of advancing up the table as they prepare for Thursday.
Players to watch: Din David will be hoping to press the reset button and rediscover the form that saw him score in three consecutive Champions League qualifying ties earlier this season. More recently, Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno has been unstoppable, with four consecutive scoring appearances, including a Flashscore rating of 9.2 at the weekend.
Hot streak: Villarreal’s last eight games against top-flight clubs were either drawn or decided by a one-goal margin.