Our prediction for this Champions League match:
Maccabi Haifa
Match Time & Date:
17/08/2022
21:00
Prediction: 1-1
Crvena Zvezda
After rolling over Pyunik (7-0 on agg), Crvena Zvezda will look to give fans yet another reason for celebration when they face Maccabi Haifa at Sammy Offer Stadium in the Champions League playoffs, first leg. Dejan Stankovic’s men have been scoring goals for fun in all competitions, but they face a difficult task in Wednesday’s clash as Maccabi impressed in the double-header with Olympiakos. There are no fresh injury worries in the away side, but Norway international Ohi Omoijuanfo remains on the sidelines due to coach’s decision.
Centre-back Aleksandar Dragovic is one yellow card away from suspension. The Israelis, on the other hand, are tough to beat at home, and given their displays in the two-legged ties with Olympiakos and Apollon, the share of spoils is on the cards in Haifa. A man to watch in the home team will be Haiti striker Frantdzy Pierrot, who has netted three goals in the Champions League qualifiers to date.
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.
Highlighted Team (Crvena Zvezda):
Crvena Zvezda are the most famous club in Balkans. The Crveno-beli have 19 Yugoslav First League titles and have won eight domestic trophies since the breakup of Yugoslavia. Crvena Zvezda won their last league title in the 2015/2016 season, with the team finishing the campaign no less than 28 points clear of Partizan.
Speaking of Partizan, the Crno-beli are considered Crvena Zvezda’s bitterest rivals and the two teams meet in the “Eternal derby” (Veciti derbi). The capital club did well to win the European Cup title in 1991, with the team beating Olympique Marseile on penalties in the title game. That is considered the club’s biggest success, but it has to be noted that the Serbian club won the International Cup later in 1991. Crvena Zvezda outclassed Colo Colo of Chile (3-0) at National Stadium in Tokyo.
The likes of Dejan Savicevic, Vladimir Jugovic, Dragan Stojkovic, Dragoslav Sekularac, Rajko Mitic, Dusan Savic, Nemanja Vidic and Dejan Stankovic are some of the famous footballers who played for Crvena Zvezda in the past.
Man City 
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Fulham
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