Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
Hapoel Beer Sheva will be aiming to recover from an embarrassing Super Cup defeat (1-6) to Maccabi Tel Aviv when they take on FK Panevezys in their Conference League opener. The Camels are low on confidence ahead of Thursday’s clash, but the bookies still see them as favourites to win this tie. Midfielder Eden Shamir limped off with injury at the weekend, with Argentina international Lucas Bareiro likely to step up.
The Lithuanian side, on the other hand, booked their place in round 2 by beating Milsami in the double-header, but they will have a mountain to climb against Hapoel, who are a real force to be reckoned with at home. All Mbo, Sarpong, and Cadjenovic should be cautious in the first leg as they are all one yellow card away from suspension. The two teams have never met before in European competitions.
Highlighted Team (Hapoel Beer Sheva):
Hapoel Be'er Sheva are an Israeli football club based in Beersheba. The club was founded in 1949 and they play their home games at Turner Stadium. The capacity of the stadium is 16 126 and it was opened in September, 2015.
Hapoel wear red shirts and white shorts when playing on home soil and they play in blue shirts and black shorts on the travels. The club played their first game against Mefalsim and they defeated their opponents 5-4. Back then no more than five teams competed in the Israeli league and it has to be noted that the likes of Hapoel Rishon LeZion, Hapoel Kfar Saba and Hapoel Ramat Gan were other teams that participated in the league.
In 1975 Hapoel Be’er Sheva won their first Israeli Premier League trophy, with the team finishing the season three points clear of Maccabi Netanya. In the 2015/2016 season they won their third domestic trophy, leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv three points clear of them in the standings. Shalon Avitan is one of the most notable footballers who played for the club.