Hapoel Beer Sheva's first taste of the Champions League proper arrives this evening, and the draw has handed the newly crowned Israeli champions about as stern a task as it could: Red Star Belgrade, the Serbian giants who have steamrolled their way through qualifying so far. Kick-off in the first leg of the third qualifying round is set for 20:30 Israel time.
According to ONE, the betting markets at Winner leave little doubt about who is expected to come out on top. Red Star are priced at 1.65 to win, with a draw available at 3.30 and Beer Sheva out at 3.75 to cause an upset on their European bow.
It is the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. Beer Sheva arrive having survived a scare in the previous round, losing 2-1 away to Icelandic champions Víkingur Reykjavík before fighting back to win the return leg 2-0 and progress 3-2 on aggregate.
Red Star have had no such trouble. Ran Kozuk's side's next opponents have won their two previous qualifying rounds by a combined aggregate score of 9-0, underlining why the Belgrade club go into the tie as clear favourites with the bookmakers.
Kozuk himself is coaching in Europe for the first time since taking charge in Beer Sheva last summer. He led the club to the Israeli championship this season and the State Cup the year before, form that earned him a two-year contract extension from the club in May.
The stakes stretch well beyond bragging rights. Should Beer Sheva find a way past Red Star over the two legs, they would meet the winner of Denmark's Aarhus and Azerbaijan's Sabah in the play-off round, with a place in the lucrative Champions League league phase on offer.
Even a two-legged exit at this stage would not end their European adventure: elimination in the Champions League qualifiers guarantees Beer Sheva a fallback place in the Conference League's league phase, a consolation few Israeli clubs have previously enjoyed.
ONE's betting round-up for the evening also touched on two Toto Cup fixtures being priced by Winner: Maccabi Haifa, already out of the domestic cup competition, are strong favourites at 1.35 at home to Ironi Tiberias (5.10, with the draw at 4.20), while Ironi Kiryat Shmona are quoted at 1.65 against Bnei Sakhnin at 3.75, with a draw at 3.30.
