Maccabi Haifa host Hapoel Jerusalem in the Toto Cup on Monday evening (20:00), the final run-out before Saturday's Israeli Premier League opener away to Hapoel Ramat Gan, and the team sheet Barak Bakhar sent out in training carried a couple of clear signals about where his squad currently stands.
The headline one, as ONE reports, is that Pedrão trained at centre-back — a sign the club still believes in the Brazilian after a difficult year in Haifa. Pedrão arrived from Portimonense in the summer of 2024 for a reported €1.3 million but managed only 17 appearances before tearing his meniscus, an injury that kept him out for the rest of last season.
Wanderson Tsunami, the 30-year-old Brazilian brought in on a free transfer after captaining Levski Sofia to a league and cup double, is set to switch to left-back for the Jerusalem match, with Kenny Saief moving to the bench as a result.
In goal, Omri Glazer returns to start, taking over from teenager Glen Alvin, who had been first choice through the early part of preseason since Glazer's return to the club after a decade away.
Further down the bench, ONE notes that the club is easing its younger players in gently — Navot Ratner, Adam Grimberg and Noam Steipman are all named among the substitutes rather than starters for the cup tie.
The bigger story around the squad, though, is the one player who still isn't in it. Andrija Novakovich, the American forward signed on a free transfer after scoring five goals in 33 appearances for a relegated Reggiana side in Italy's Serie B last season, remains outside the squad entirely — not through injury or form, but bureaucracy.
Maccabi Haifa's foreign-player registration is full, with eight non-Israeli players already on the books, and Novakovich cannot be added until one of them departs. The player standing in his way is midfielder Peter Agbah, who holds an offer from a Russian club but, according to ONE, has been hesitant to accept it because of concerns about the security situation in the region.
The club is hopeful the move will still go through in the coming days, and ONE reports Maccabi Haifa could register Novakovich as early as Monday at noon if Agbah's exit is finalised in time — though as of the Jerusalem match, the American remains unable to feature.
Elsewhere in the forward line, Silva Cani — the Israeli-Togolese winger who joined from Beitar Jerusalem after impressing at Bat Yam and beyond — is being given priority for a starting role up front, according to the report.
And Bruninho, signed for a reported €1.75 million on a three-year deal this summer, continues to draw praise inside the club, with ONE describing him as a potential game-changer capable of attracting interest from bigger leagues within a couple of seasons if his form holds.
