Maccabi Tel-Aviv eye Beşiktaş chance
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Article summary
Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC's chances of reaching the round of 32 are not quite gone, but they need to win against Beşiktaş JK in Group E and hope Stoke City FC do the same against FC Dynamo Kyiv.
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Routed to the bottom of UEFA Europa League Group E, Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC know victory is paramount against Beşiktaş JK, if they harbour ambitions of reaching the round of 32.
Previous meetings
• Beşiktaş matched their best previous European home win and inflicted a repeat of Maccabi's heaviest continental defeat on matchday one, with the Black Eagles winning 5-1 in Istanbul. Hugo Almeida (3 & 28) put Beşiktaş ahead, and though Roi Kehat (48) struck back, Mehmet Aurélio (51), Egemen Korkmaz (53) and Edu (88) completed the rout.
• Maccabi have not won in five games against Turkish clubs, with a record of W0 D2 L3 (W0 D1 L1 at home).
• Beşiktaş's only previous experience of Israeli opposition came in the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, when they were eliminated by Hapoel Haifa FC on away goals after following up a 1-1 home draw with a goalless tie in Israel.
Match background
• Prior to a 2-1 loss against Stoke on matchday four, Maccabi were unbeaten in 12 UEFA home games (eight wins and four draws). Going into matchday two's draw against FC Dynamo Kyiv, they had won their last six UEFA games at Bloomfield.
• Beşiktaş have lost their last four games on the road in Europe since a 2-1 win at PFC CSKA Sofia in last season's UEFA Europa League group stage.
Team facts
• Beşiktaş striker Edu will play his first game since turning 30 on the eve of the match.
• Maccabi boss Motti Iwanir spent much of his playing career at the club, leaving Israel only once for a spell with Dutch side Roda JC (1986-88). He was coach of Israel's Under-17 and then U21 teams before taking charge of his old team in 2011.
• Beşiktaş' Portuguese coach Carlos Carvalhal was once a defender for SC Braga and FC Porto among others. In 2009/10 he coached Sporting Clube de Portugal before coming to Istanbul in 2011.
