Our prediction for this Champions League match:
Crvena Zvezda will look to overcome a one-goal deficit in the tie with Maccabi Haifa when they take on the Israelis in the “Marakana hell”. The famous Stadion Rajko Mitic will be packed on Tuesday evening, but Dejan Stankovic’s men will have to prove their worth on the field. Pacey winger Osman Bukari should recover in time to face Maccabi, while towering centre-back Aleksandar Dragovic is back from suspension.
Summer signing Aleksandar Pesic is widely expected to lead the line for the Serbian champions. The Greens, on the other hand, came from behind to beat Zvezda 3-2 in front of home fans, but they will have a much bigger fish to fry in Belgrade. Since Zvezda are a real force to be reckoned with at home, we predict that the visitors will return to Haifa empty-handed this time out. Head coach Barak Bakhar is likely to field the same starting XI that faced Zvezda in the first leg.
Highlighted Player (Milan Gajic):
Milan Gajic is a product of OFK Beograd youth academy. The pacey right back, who was born in Vukovar (Croatia) on January 28, 1996 scored four goals in 46 appearances for OFK Beograd from 2013 to 2015 and on July 22, 2015 he signed a five-year deal with Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.
Milan Gajic is a youth international for Serbia and he represented the Eagles at the 2017 European Championship. The Serbs failed to impress at the tournament in Poland, with the team losing to Portugal and Spain in Group B, while sharing the spoils with Macedonia. Gajic was a starter in matches against Portugal and Macedonia, but he missed the Spain clash with injury.
In 2015, though, Milan Gajic did well to win the FIFA U20 World Cup with Serbia as Veljko Paunovic’s men outplayed Brazil in the title game. His main position is right-back (full-back), but he is capable of playing both central and right midfielder. Milan Gajic made 14 appearances for Bordeaux in the 2016/2017 Ligue 1 campaign.