Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
HaMoshava Stadium will host Thursday’s Conference League qualifier between Hapoel Beer Sheva and Arda. The Israelis won the first leg by two goals to nil, and they are now on a quest to defend their lead. You should bear in mind that Hapoel are eyeing their fourth consecutive win in all competitions. Experienced midfielder Dor Micha, who found the net in the first leg, is pushing for a start.
Arda, on the other hand, will have a mountain to climb in the second leg as they need a big win if they are to advance to the round 3. Hapoel are more of a team than Arda, and we predict that the hosts are going to prove their worth on the field. Bulgarian defender Krum Stoyanov is unlikely to feature in Thursday’s clash after picking up an injury in the first leg.
Highlighted Player (Josue):
Born in Ermesinde, Portugal on September 17, 1990, Josué Filipe Soares Pesqueira is a 174-cm tall midfielder, who plays for Turkish side Akhisar Belediyespor. Josue is a product of FC Porto football school, but he played for the likes of Padroense and Candal during his youth career as well. After ending his loan spells with the likes of Covilha, Penafiel and VVV, Josue signed a contract with Pacos Ferreira in the 2011/2012 season.
The Portuguese footballer played 42 games for Pacos Ferreira before returning to Porto in the 2013/2014 season. In the summer of 2016 Josue joined Galatasaray on loan and after scoring two goals in 25 appearances for the capital club, he moved to fellow Turkish side Osmanlispor in the 2017/2018 season.
Josue currently plays for Akhisar Belediyespor, the Turkish club that booked their place in the 2018/2019 Europa League group stages thanks to a win over Fenerbahce in the Turkish Cup final. His main position is attacking midfielder, but he is used as a winger as well.
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.