Ironi Tiberias head to Sami Ofer Stadium on Tuesday evening to face Hapoel Haifa in the second round of the Toto Cup, and according to ONE, two players who barely started a competitive minute a week ago are now expected to be in the XI.
Itamar Shviro and Mansour Badji are both pencilled in to start after coming off the bench in Tiberias's last outing, a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over Bnei Sakhnin, and playing a part in the turnaround, ONE reports.
Shviro, 27, is a two-cap Israel international centre-forward who arrived in Tiberias after a loan spell at Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he helped the club win promotion back to the top flight. He came through Hapoel Be'er Sheva's academy and has also worn the shirts of Ironi Kiryat Shmona and Maccabi Netanya.
Badji, a 21-year-old Gambian winger, is only now getting a look-in with the senior squad after two seasons out on loan at Maccabi Yaffo. He first joined Tiberias's youth ranks in 2023, following a brief spell in Maccabi Haifa's academy, and was a prolific scorer at youth level before heading out on loan.
Assistant coach Moti Crispel, speaking to ONE ahead of the trip to Haifa, played down any notion of a fixed pecking order in the squad. "Every match stands on its own," he said. "Against Sakhnin I decided to start with players who are being tested in the squad, good timing before the season. I don't like using the terms 'strong lineup' or 'weak lineup' - they're all strong. We make specific adjustments per match."
Crispel added that he was pleased with the character his side showed to beat Sakhnin and set the same target for Haifa. "We approach Hapoel Haifa with the same objective: win through actions, not words, done properly and humbly," he said.
Hapoel Haifa arrive on the back of their own eye-catching start to the Toto Cup, having beaten local rivals Maccabi Haifa 3-2 in a derby opener in Bayit Alef, the tournament's northern section.
Kick-off at Sami Ofer Stadium is set for 19:45 on Tuesday, with both clubs still shaping their squads and rotation patterns before the Israeli league season proper gets under way.
