By ALLON SINAIMaccabi Haifa 224.88(photo credit: Berney Ardov)
Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Netanya will look to maintain the status quo at the top of the standings on Saturday.
Leaguer leader Haifa enters its road match against Hakoach Amidar Ramat Gan brimming with confidence after defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-2 on Monday.
Elisha Levy's team has won three straight matches, but has only managed one victory in its three games away from Kiryat Eliezer Stadium.
Hakoach is the only team in the league yet to win a match and Dudu Dahan's side has scored just one goal in its last four games.
"Hakoach is a very tenacious team and is guaranteed to give us a tough time," Levy said on Thursday. "We need to be ready both physically and mentally if we're to clear this hurdle. If we are ready, I believe we will take all three points."
One of the main reasons behind Haifa's excellent form is the play of forward Yaniv Katan, who is expected to be in the lineup on Saturday despite an ankle injury.
"He hasn't trained in three days. We hope he'll be fit," Levy said.
Netanya hosts rock-bottom Bnei Yehuda on Saturday and coach Lothar Matthaus will hope his team can win for the sixth time in eight matches.
Bnei Yehdua has lost four of its last five matches, scoring just one goal in that period.
Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Ran Ben-Shimon will host his former club Ironi Kiryat Shmona at Bloomfield Stadium on Saturday and, unless his side claims all three points for the first time in more than a month, he can expect the fan calls for his head to continue to intensify.
Maccabi has won just two of its seven matches this season and was far from impressive in the loss to Haifa.
Maccabi supporters, who had hoped their team would challenge for the championship, are blaming Ben-Shimon for the early season struggles and the coach can't afford another failure in a home match.
Last season, Ben-Shimon led Kiryat Shmona to a surprising third place finish, but the Northerners have lost three of their last four matches and will be a huge underdog on Saturday.
Also Saturday, Maccabi Petah Tikva will try to win its fourth in five matches when it hosts Ashdod SC, while Hapoel Petah Tikva visits Bnei Sakhnin.
On Monday, Betar Jerusalem will continue its search for a first home victory of the season when it hosts Hapoel Tel Aviv.
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