On Thursday evening, Hapoel Haifa host Atalanta in the Europa League third qualifying round first leg.
Hapoel Haifa are enjoying their debut campaign in the Europa League in its current guise. The Israeli side entered the competition at the second qualifying stage and saw off Icelandic side FH 2-1 on aggregate. The first leg in Israel finished 1-1, but a 1-0 win in Iceland was enough to set-up this clash.
Prior to this season, the home side last played in Europe in the now-defunct Inter-Toto Cup back in season 2001/2002. Their biggest European result came in qualifying for the Champions league in season 1999/2000, as they managed to defeat Turkish side Besiktas on away goals.
However, they suffered defeat against Valencia in this round of the competition, so making it beyond this point of the Europa League would be a big achievement for the home side.
Like their opponents, Atalanta are relative newcomers to the Europa League in its current guise, as the Bergamo-based side made their competition debut last season. The Italian side has enjoyed a decent record in the competition suffering just one defeat in their ten games in the Europa League. Last season they suffered a 4-3 aggregate defeat by Dortmund in the last 32.
The visitors hammered Sarajevo 10-2 on aggregate in the second qualifying round. However, the Italian side suffered a scare in the first leg, as Sarajevo secured a 2-2 draw in the away leg. However, an 8-0 victory in Bosnia saw Piero Gian Gasperini’s side through to set-up this tie.
Their away record in the Europa League is mixed, as they have won two, drawn two and lost one of their games on their travels. Both teams have scored in four of their five away games in the Europa League.
Forebet predicts that Atalanta will record a narrow victory to take into the second leg of this tie next week.