Hapoel wary of Group G trap door

Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC must be wary of a doomsday scenario as they take on FK Mladá Boleslav in their final UEFA Cup Group G game in Israel.

• Currently second in the section, a point will be enough to seal their progress to the last 32 following a defeat by Panathinaikos FC, a draw against AFC Rapid Bucuresti and a win at Paris Saint-Germain FC in their previous outings.

• Hapoel could top the group if a Panathinaikos defeat at PSG coincides with a win for Hapoel which results in the Israeli side ending up with a better goal difference. However, a loss would see both Mladá Boleslav and Rapid – and potentially PSG as well – move above them in the rankings, meaning they would be eliminated.

• The side finishing top of the section is guaranteed a tie against one of the third-placed finishers from another group in the draw for the Round of 32 on 15 December, while each pool runner-up will meet one of the third-placed finishers from the UEFA Champions League.

• The two sides have never met in European competition.

• Hapoel coach Itzhak Shum's old club, Panathinaikos, won 1-0 at Mladá Boleslav on Matchday 2.

• Hapoel have never faced opponents from the Czech Republic or the former Czechoslovakia before.

• Mladá Boleslav are also yet to come up against opponents from Israel.

• Israeli fans will be familiar with the name of Mladá Boleslav coach Dušan Uhrin, even though his face may not ring too many bells. The coach's father, also Dušan Uhrin, led Maccabi Haifa FC to a memorable UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph against Paris Saint-Germain FC in 1998/99.

• Czech and Israeli clubs have met only four times in UEFA competition in the course of two two-legged UEFA Intertoto Cup ties.

• Of those four meetings, the Israeli side has won one, drawn one and lost two.

• In Israel itself, the home side has drawn once and lost once. Thus Hapoel could become the first Israeli side to beat a Czech team on home soil if they overcome Mladá Boleslav.

• FC Slovan Liberec became the first Czech club to win in Israel when they followed up a 5-1 home win with a 2-1 second-leg success against Beitar Jerusalem FC in the 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup second round.

• Mladá Boleslav midfielder Martin Abrahám played in both legs of that tie for Liberec while Miloš Brezinský was an unused substitute in both games.

• PSG play Panathinaikos in Matchday 5’s other Group G game.