Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
Thursday’s football game at Bloomfield Stadium pits together Maccabi Tel Aviv and Trnava, the two teams who played out a goalless draw at City Arena Trnava. The Israelis failed to turn their dominance into victory in the first leg, but they are surely capable of beating the Slovaks at home ground. In their last home game in the Conference League qualifiers Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Sutjeska, which is surely giving fans a reason for optimism ahead of the return leg.
The Slovaks, on the other hand, failed to impress in the first leg, and given their anything but good away record in European competitions, we are tempted to put our money on the home team. Ghana international Kelvin Boateng, who came as a substitute in the first leg, is pushing for a start for the visiting team.
Highlighted Player (Eitan Tibi):
Eitan Tibi is a profesional footballer who plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Born in Jerusalem on 16 November, 1987, Tibi started his senior career at his hometown club Beitar Jerusalem. After ending his spell with Beitar in 2010 he moved to Charleroi and it has to be noted that the made nine league appearances for the Belgium outfit in the 2010/2011 season.
The Israeli defender then returned to his homeland, signing a contract with Ironi Kiryat Shmona, but he spent no more than one season at the club. In the summer of 2012 he signed a three-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv and he has been playing for the club ever since. His main position is centre back, but he is capable of playing as a left back as well.
In 2012 Eitan Tibi made his Israel debut against Czech Republic and he has established himself as a first-team regular. He started the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Italy, but Israel suffered a 3-1 loss to Giampiero Ventura’s troops in their opener.