Sheriff Tiraspol will be looking to hold on to their lead in the second round when they head to Sammy Ofer Stadium to take on Maccabi Haifa in the second leg of their Champions League qualification campaign.
The visitors currently have a one-goal advantage after last week's first-leg encounter and will now have one eye on progressing to the third qualifying round between either Zrinjski Mostar or Slovan Bratislava.
Match preview
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Maccabi Haifa were the best side domestically last season, ending the regular season four points clear of Hapoel Be'er Sheva before extending that gap to seven points during the playoff round.
After demolishing Hamrun Spartans 6-1 on aggregate in the first qualifying round, Maccabi Haifa were quickly brought back to reality as they were unable to find a way back after going a goal down in the first half against this opponent last week.
The Israeli outfit were the dominant side across the 90 minutes of that match, outperforming their opponents in terms of possession and goal attempts. However, they were wasteful in their finishing and will now have to come from behind in order to progress in the competition.
The hosts are no strangers to this competition and have made the group stage on two occasions, with the most recent coming last season when they were drawn in Group H alongside Benfica, PSG and Juventus.
While they finished bottom of the group with a couple of hefty defeats against Benfica and PSG, they did manage a famous 2-0 home win against Juventus and will be hoping for another memorable performance this time around.
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Meanwhile, perennial Moldovan Super Liga champions Sheriff earned their place in this competition after securing their sixth consecutive league title last term, beating Petrocub by six points in the regular season and by three in the Championship round.
Unlike their opponents, Roberto Bordin's side faced a much more difficult opponent in Farul in the first round of qualifying and had to come from a goal down in the first leg to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
They took a step closer to the next round last week after Amine Talal opened the scoring for them before the half-hour mark, while a solid display from their backline ensured that their opponents were unable to create any clear-cut chances for the majority of the second half.
Sheriff have competed in the last seven Champions League qualifiers and 20 times in total since the 2001-02 season but have only made it to the main tournament draw once in that time, which was in the 2021-22 season.
During that campaign, they also managed an incredible win over Real Madrid and another over Shakhtar Donetsk but ended third in the group behind Los Blancos and Inter Milan.
However, despite their previous successes in this tournament, the Moldovan champions are currently showing up as a massive outsider for this encounter and will have to find a way to keep out their opponents, who are on an eight-match winning streak in competitive matches on their home patch.
Team News
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Messay Dego has two absentees to contend with for this crucial match, with Sun Menahem out through injury, while Basam Zaarura is ineligible for selection due to a suspension imposed through the sports court.
Frantzdy Pierrot bagged three goals in the last round against Hamrun and will almost certainly start up front for the hosts with Tjaronn Chery for support in the number 10 role.
Bordin has just one absentee to deal with in the form of the suspended Cedric Ngah, and that will likely mean that Cristian Tovar and Munashe Garananga will continue as the central defensive partnership.
Henrique Luvannor and Jerome Ngom Mbekeli should make up the two-man frontline, with Peter Ademo and Moussa Kyabou in the engine room.
Maccabi Haifa possible starting lineup:
Nitzan; Sundgren, Seck, Goldberg, Cornud; Haziza, Naor, Mohamed, Saba, Chery; Pierrot
Sheriff Tiraspol possible starting lineup:
Koval; Zohouri, Tovar, Garananga, Apostolakis; Fernandes, Kyabouu, Ademo, Talal; Henrique, Mbekeli
We say: Maccabi Haifa 2-1 Sheriff Tiraspol
Despite the eventual scoreline, Maccabi Haifa were arguably the better side last week and are heavily fancied to put in another big performance on home soil. We feel that this tie will go beyond regulation time, with the hosts winning the match by a one-goal margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
