Stakes rising for Juventus and Haifa

Juventus will be desperate to claim their first victory after two draws when they entertain Group A rivals Maccabi Haifa FC on Matchday 3. Elisha Levi's visitors are likely to have other ideas as they hunt their first points following losses to section frontrunners FC Bayern München and FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

Match background
• This will be the first encounter between the two clubs but Juventus have faced Israeli opposition, namely Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Mauro Camoranesi's goal earned the Bianconeri a 1-0 home victory in September 2004. However, it took a 71st-minute Alessandro Del Piero equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw in the return meeting at the Ramat Gan Stadium that December, current Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara's penultimate European game for the club as a player.

• Haifa secured a draw in thrilling fashion on their last visit to Italy for a UEFA Cup group-stage contest with AS Livorno Calcio in November 2006. Trailing 1-0, Roberto Colautti headed an equaliser three minutes into added time to take the Israeli outfit through to the knockout rounds.

• There was even more drama on their first trip to Italy for a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second-round tie with then holders Parma FC in 1993/94. After losing 1-0 at home, Haifa bounced back with a 1-0 win in the return leg. Alon Harazi, who is still at the club, provided the assist for Alon Mizrahi's goal but then missed a penalty in the ensuing 3-1 shoot-out defeat.

• Juventus's 1-1 draw with Bordeaux on Matchday 1 extended their unbeaten run at home in the UEFA Champions League proper to 15 games. They have won ten and drawn five in Turin since a 1-0 defeat by RC Deportivo La Coruña in March 2004.

• Following their 1-0 loss at Bordeaux last time out, Haifa are still seeking a first away win in the UEFA Champions League group stage after four attempts.

Team ties
• Maccabi midfielder Gustavo Boccoli spent part of the 1999/2000 season training in Italy with Brescia Calcio but returned to his native Brazil without playing a game.

• Juve midfielder Mohamed Sissoko played in the Liverpool FC team that beat Haifa 3-2 on aggregate in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

• Juve forward David Trezeguet has scored each time he has faced Israel on the international stage. He struck in a 2-1 victory in a UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier in Palermo in April 2003 and found the net again in a 3-0 win in the return fixture six months later, firing past Haifa goalkeeper Nir Davidovitch.

• Trezeguet also hit France's goal at the Ramat Gan Stadium when the countries met again in a 1-1 draw in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying in March 2005. The evening ended unhappily for Trezeguet, however, as he was sent off five minutes after scoring.

• Juventus defender Zdeněk Grygera was in the AFC Ajax team beaten 2-1 at Maccabi Tel-Aviv during the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Hasan Salihamidžić also faced Maccabi Tel-Aviv that season but should have fonder memories: he scored one of Bayern's goals in a 5-1 home win in November 2004.