On Thursday, starting with 20:00, the match Leverkusen – Hapoel Beer Sheva will be played, within the Europa League group stage. In the round, Leverkusen won 4-2 in Israel, the only previous direct meeting, through the goals scored by Bailey (2), Wirtz and Dadya (own goal), respectively Acolatse (2). In addition to Leverkusen and Hapoel Beer Sheva, Group C also includes Slavia Prague and Nice.
Leverkusen is going through an exceptional “offensive” period, ticking 4 impressive consecutive victories: 4-2 with Freiburg and Hapoel Beer Sheva, 4-3 with Monchengladbach and 2-1 with Bielefeld. The group coached by Peter Bosz has 6 points after the first 3 stages of the Europa League and is on the second place in the group, tied with the leader (in direct matches) Slavia Prague. In the Bundesliga, Leverkusen is third in the standings, with 18 points, tied with Dortmund and one length behind the Bayern leader.
Hapoel Beer Sheva defeated Slavia Prague in the first match of the Europa League groups, score 3-1, but then lost to Nice (0-1) and Leverkusen (2-4). The Israelis have only one victory in the first 7 stages of the domestic championship and are ranked 10th, 5 points away from Kiryat Shmona, the surprise leader. After the inconsistent evolution of the tour match, Hapoel Beer Sheva can aim to score on “BayArena”, but his chances to get a positive result are low.
Hapoel Beer Sheva is the third presence in the Europa League groups;
Leverkusen played in the Champions League groups last season;
In the round, Leverkusen won 4-2 in Israel;
Leverkusen (4-3-3): Lukas Hradecky; Lars Bender, Jonathan Tah, Sven Bender, Daley Sinkgraven; Florian Wirtz, Julian Baumgartlinger, Nadiem Amiri; Leon Bailey, Lucas Alario, Mousa Diaby.
Hapoel Beer Sheva (3-4-3): Ohad Levita; Loai Taha, Eitan Ratzon, Marwan Kabha; Or Dadia, Joshua, Mariano Bareiro, Sean Goldberg; Sintyahu Sallalich, Jhonatan Agudelo, Elton Acolatse.
PREDICTION: Over 3,5 goals @ 2,02
