With just three points from its past three matches, Hapoel Tel Aviv desperately
needs to breathe new life into its Premier League title challenge when it visits
Bnei Yehuda at Bloomfield Stadium on Saturday.
Hapoel still only trails
league-leader Maccabi Tel Aviv by a single point, but Yossi Abuksis’s team has
only managed to draw against three of the league’s four bottom sides in the past
three weeks, dropping a two-goal lead against rock-bottom Hapoel Haifa last
Saturday.
The Reds have still conceded the fewest goals of all 14 teams
in the league, allowing just 12 in 15 matches, but they have let in two goals in
each of their past two games.
Bnei Yehuda dropped to a 1- 0 loss at
Hapoel Ramat Gan last week, but it has won three of its past four home matches
and always enters its showdowns against its illustrious Tel Aviv rivals with
added motivation.
A win will take Hapoel back to the top of the standings
for at least 24 hours, with Maccabi Tel Aviv not hosting Hapoel Haifa until
Sunday.
Maccabi Haifa will look to extend its eight-match unbeaten streak
and make up some more lost ground on the top two when it hosts Hapoel Beersheba
at Kiryat Eliezer Stadium on Saturday.
Haifa’s four-game winning streak
was snapped with a dreary 0-0 draw at Ironi Kiryat Shmona on Monday, but it is
still unbeaten under the guidance of coach Arik Benado and currently finds
itself a significant, yet bridgeable, 10 points behind first place.
Haifa
has kept a clean-sheet in its past four matches, but has only scored two goals
over its last three, an understandable source of concern for Benado.
“Our
defensive play has improved and there’s no need to get stressed about our
attacking play,” Benado said.
“We will fix whatever needs fixing and we
are aiming to get back to winning ways against Beersheba.”
Also kicking
off on a busy Saturday, Maccabi Netanya, which is winless over its past seven
games, hosts Kiryat Shmona.
Ironi Ramat Hasharon faces Ramat Gan and
Hapoel Acre, which has gone a painful nine matches without a victory, visits
Bnei Sakhnin.
Betar Jerusalem hosts Ashdod SC on Monday.
|