Maccabi Tel Aviv and FCSB will renew their Champions League qualification battle on Wednesday evening in Budapest, Hungary, a neutral venue necessitated by the current situation in Israel.
The first leg in Bucharest last week ended in a 1-1 draw, leaving the tie tantalisingly poised. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israeli Premier League champions, are back in Champions League qualifying for the first time since 2015-16, having been frequent participants in the Europa and Conference League competitions.
The Yellows are unbeaten in their pre-season preparations, having won the Super Cup against Maccabi Petah Tikva and recorded three draws in friendlies. New boss Zarko Lazetic has overseen a positive start to his reign, and a victory here would secure a place in the third round against the winner of Shamrock Rovers and Sparta Praha.
FCSB, despite being the more dominant side in the first leg with 16 shots at goal compared to Maccabi Tel Aviv's seven, will be disappointed not to have secured a victory on home soil. Their sole goal came from Joyskim Dawa in the 75th minute, four minutes after falling behind to Dan Biton's opener.
While FCSB's season is well underway, having navigated the first round of qualifying with an emphatic 11-1 aggregate victory over Virtus, their form has dipped recently. They lost 2-0 to Otelul in Liga I over the weekend, extending their winless streak to three matches and leaving them with just one victory in their last six games across all competitions.
Team News
Maccabi Tel Aviv are without five players - Osher Davida, Elad Madmon, Roy Revivo, Dor Turgeman and Ido Shahar - who are on international duty at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Goalkeeper Or Yitzhak is also sidelined following surgery in the offseason.
FCSB, meanwhile, are missing Alexandru Pantea, who is recovering from a ligament tear, and Octavian Popescu, who is on the road to recovery following foot surgery. Elias Charalambous made wholesale changes to his starting lineup in the weekend's league match and is expected to revert to a stronger team, with Daniel Popa, Marius Stefanescu, Darius Olaru and Alexandru Baluta likely to return to the starting XI.
Possible Starting Lineups:
Maccabi Tel Aviv: Mishpati; Shlomo, Nachmias, Asante, Cohen, Davidzada; Peretz, van Overeem, Kanichowsky; Zahavi, Addo
FCSB's failure to capitalise on their first-leg dominance leaves them with a tough task of securing a victory away from home, even in a neutral venue. Maccabi Tel Aviv, buoyed by the draw in Bucharest, will be confident of securing their passage to the next round.
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