Betar, Acre meet, both need W

Considering Betar Jerusalem’s start to the Premier League season, a comfortable place in the middle of the standings can hardly be regarded as a disappointment.

Betar picked up just two points from its first five league matches before recovering to win five of its next seven games to surge up the table.

However, the last of those victories came over a month ago, with Jerusalem only managing draws in its past four encounters.

Betar has still only lost once over its last 12 matches, but it has dropped back to eighth place with 22 points from 16 games and will be desperate to return to winning ways when it visits Hapoel Acre on Saturday.

Acre, which beat Betar 1-0 at Teddy Stadium in September, has struggled mightily over recent months, failing to win in its last 10 matches, losing its past three contests.

Like Betar and Acre, secondplaced Hapoel Tel Aviv has also gone winless in its past four matches, losing 2-1 to Bnei Yehuda last week after three consecutive draws against three of the league’s weaker sides.

The Reds have fallen four points behind league-leader Maccabi Tel Aviv, which doesn’t visit Ironi Kiryat Shmona until Monday, and will be hoping to put the yellow-andblue under pressure with a win at Bloomfield Stadium on Saturday over a Hapoel Ramat Hasharon side which has claimed three straight games.

Also Saturday, Hapoel Beersheba hosts the struggling Maccabi Netanya, while Bnei Yehuda visits rock-bottom Hapoel Haifa and Hapoel Ramat Gan welcomes Bnei Sakhnin.

Maccabi Haifa, which has won five of six matches, visits third-placed Ashdod SC on Sunday.