Outgoing Haifa hope to end barren run

Maccabi Haifa FC will hope to bring their supporters some belated cheer when they close their UEFA Champions League campaign against Group A winners FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

• The Israeli champions have not given their supporters a single goal to celebrate in 450 minutes of football so far and remain one of only two teams in the group stage yet to collect a point, along with Hungary's Debreceni VSC.

• If Elisha Levi's men are looking to sign off on a winning note, unbeaten Bordeaux are under no pressure on this first-ever visit to Israel, having already secured top spot in Group A by beating Juventus last time out.

Previous meeting
• Bordeaux left it late to defeat Haifa when the clubs met in south-west France on 30 September, Michaël Ciani heading the only goal with seven minutes remaining.

Match background
• Haifa are hoping to avoid becoming only the second team in UEFA Champions League history to finish a group-stage programme without a goal. The first team to record that unwanted feat were RC Deportivo La Coruña in 2004/05.

• Bordeaux, however, have conceded only two goals so far – the joint-best defensive record in the competition alongside FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC.

• The Israeli champions have lost all five games so far, as have Debrecen. Eight teams have ended a UEFA Champions League group stage without a single point:
FC Dynamo Kyiv in 2007/08
PFC Levski Sofia in 2006/07
SK Rapid Wien in 2005/06
RSC Anderlecht in 2004/05
Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2002/03 (second group stage)
FC Spartak Moskva in 2002/03
Fenerbahçe SK in 2001/02
1. FC Košice in 1997/98

• Haifa enjoyed better fortune in their one previous UEFA Champions League campaign in 2002/03, registering seven points and 12 goals.

• Haifa have won their two previous home meetings with French opponents, starting with a 3-2 success against Paris Saint-Germain FC in the 1998/99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round.

• Nir Davidovitch and Alon Harazi both featured in the Haifa lineup together with Adoram Keisi, now the club's technical manager. Yaniv Katan, then 17, appeared as a second-half substitute.

• After PSG had twice equalised efforts from Keisi and Alon Mizrahi, the latter hit a 90th-minute winner with his second goal of the night, sending the Israeli outfit through with a 4-3 aggregate victory.

• Haifa opened their 2006/07 UEFA Cup group-stage campaign by beating AJ Auxerre 3-1 on 19 October 2006 through goals from Alain Masudi, Gustavo Boccoli and Roberto Colautti. Featuring alongside Boccoli were Davidovitch, Katan, Harazi and Dekel Keinan.

Team ties
• Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc scored two goals for France in a 4-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying victory against Israel in February 1993.

• However, he was also in the France team stunned 3-2 by Israel eight months later – the first of two home defeats that ended their World Cup qualifying hopes. Harazi was on the winning team that night.

• Davidovitch, Harazi and Keisi were in the Israel team beaten 3-0 by France in a UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier in Paris in October 2003. Davidovitch and Katan returned to the French capital in September 2004 for a goalless draw in a World Cup preliminary. Katan featured in the countries' subsequent 1-1 draw in Tel Aviv in March 2005, when Harazi was on the bench.

• Haifa defenders Keinan and Shai Maymon were in the Israel team that beat France 1-0 in Hertzeliya in October 2006 to record a 2-1 aggregate victory in the play-off for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Bordeaux's Yoan Gouffran was in the defeated France side.

• Bordeaux defender Diego Placente played against Haifa on their previous appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage, featuring in the Bayer 04 Leverkusen team that beat them 2-1 in Germany on 23 October 2002.

• Blanc also appeared in Manchester United FC's 5-2 win against Haifa at Old Trafford on 18 September 2002.