Maccabi Tel Aviv's route through Europa League qualifying continues to run through Georgia rather than Bloomfield. The club confirmed on Thursday that it will host the first leg of the third qualifying round in Batumi on August 6, with the second leg away a week later, on August 13.
The fixture caps a comfortable passage past Sheriff Tiraspol. Maccabi won 5-0 in Moldova on July 23 and closed out a 1-0 second leg at the Batumi Stadium on July 30 — settled by a Samba Kone own goal in the 29th minute — for a 6-0 aggregate victory that sent them through to the next stage without much drama.
As with every Maccabi Tel Aviv "home" European fixture this season, the August 6 game will not be played in Tel Aviv. The club has been staging its continental ties in Batumi because of the security situation in Israel, meaning supporters in Georgia rather than at Bloomfield Stadium will see the third-round opener in person.
Maccabi's opponent for that tie was still undecided at the time of writing. Azerbaijan's Qarabag and Bulgaria's CSKA Sofia drew 0-0 in the first leg of their own second-round qualifier in Baku on July 23, with the return leg in Sofia taking place the same day as Maccabi's win over Sheriff — meaning the winner would only be confirmed once away goals and, if needed, extra time or penalties settled the tie.
Whichever side advances, Maccabi will have home advantage — in name if not in geography — for the opening leg, before travelling to Azerbaijan or Bulgaria for the decider on August 13.
The stakes are significant. Winning the third qualifying round would send Maccabi into the Europa League playoff round, the last hurdle before the competition's revamped league phase, and would guarantee the club a place in the Conference League phase at minimum even if they fall short there.
It continues a now-familiar pattern for the Yellow-and-Blue, who have had to treat continental qualifying as an away-from-home campaign in all but name while playing their notional "home" legs in Georgia.
