Having beaten Celta de Vigo 2-1 and Feyenoord 2-0 in their UEFA Europa League home games so far this season, Sebastian Hoeneß’s VfB Stuttgart side head into Thursday’s meeting with Maccabi Tel Aviv brimming with confidence.
No ‘home’ games as such
Zarko Lazetic’s Maccabi, meanwhile, have collected only one point from their five league-phase games this term. Since kicking off their campaign with a goalless draw at Greek outfit PAOK, they have lost 3-1 to Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, 3-0 to Danish club Midtjylland, 2-0 to Aston Villa in England and, most recently, 6-0 at home to French giants Olympique Lyon. However, while VfB can look forward to playing their home matches in front of a capacity crowd – and the best fans in the world – at the MHP Arena, the situation is very different at Maccabi. Lazetic’s team have played their designated home games on neutral soil at Serbian club Backa Topola due to the fraught political situation in Israel.
It is little surprise, therefore, that Maccabi have struggled to play to their full potential this term. Founded in 1906, Israel’s biggest sports club have been crowned league champions 26 times and lifted the domestic cup on 24 occasions. They also won Asia’s top-tier continental competition twice – in 1969 and 1971 – before Israel became a member of UEFA.
Maccabi favour a 4-2-3-1 system
VfB and Maccabi will lock horns for the first time on Thursday evening. Hoeneß’s charges are up against opponents who may not have any big-name stars in their ranks, but are still a very tough nut to crack. The biggest name in the squad – and Maccabi’s most important player – is midfield dynamo Dor Peretz. A 54-time senior Israeli international with Portuguese roots, Peretz spent the 2021/22 campaign with Italian Serie A outfit Venezia.
The number 10 in a 4-2-3-1 system, Peretz is the most important cog in Lazetic’s Maccabi machine. Venezuelan striker Kervin Andrade and Osher Davida usually line up alongside the skipper in an attacking midfield three, with striker Elad Madmon leading the line.
