It is Maccabi Haifa next up for Tottenham Hotspur in the final qualifying round of the Europa League. Spurs have already beaten Lokomotiv Plovdiv and KF Shkendija in this season’s competition.
Maccabi Haifa Will Provide Stiff Opposition for Tottenham
Israeli League Stalwarts
Maccabi Haifa are considered one of the top teams in the Israeli league. The name will be known for the club where Avram Grant, the former Chelsea manager, was in charge in 2000. Maccabi became the first Israeli club to qualify for the Champions League in 2002. In the group phase, they beat Olympiakos and Manchester United. Those victories were not enough to go through to the knockout stages and they dropped into the UEFA Cup after finishing third.
Another familiar name for English Premier League fans will be Yossi Benayoun. He became a household name in Israel for Maccabi before playing for West Ham United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Last season, Maccabi finished runners up in the Israeli Championship and will be looking to cause an upset in North London.
Rotation Key to Managing Busy Schedule for Jose Mourinho
After a penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, Jose Mourinho will ring the changes once more for the visit of Maccabi Haifa.
Harry Kane will return to the starting line up with Giovani Lo Celso, Harry Winks and Matt Doherty also likely to feature. Tanguy Ndombele completed 90 minutes for the second time this season against Chelsea and may drop to the bench as Mourinho continues to manage his fitness.
Eric Dier will not start, according to Jose Mourinho, who remains unhappy with Spurs’ schedule and having to play some personnel twice in 48 hours.
Prediction
Maccabi Haifa are a robust team and won’t allow Spurs an easy match. However, with the quality Tottenham have, this should be a routine 3-0 victory.
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