On the eve of one of the biggest nights in the club's recent history, it is a voice from within Serbian football itself sounding the alarm about Hapoel Be'er Sheva's attacking threat.

Israeli champions Be'er Sheva host Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday (20:30 Israel time) in the first leg of the Champions League third qualifying round, a tie that will be played, as is now standard for Israeli clubs in Europe, at a neutral venue in Szombathely, Hungary. It is the first-ever meeting between the two clubs, with the winner advancing to the playoff round.

Ahead of the game, Dušan Matović — a Serbian coach who spent close to a decade working in Israeli football, including spells with Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel Aviv — was called on by Serbian media to scout Be'er Sheva's squad, according to ONE.

Matović singled out winger Amir Ganah as the player who should worry Red Star's back line most. He is "dynamic, plays from the wing but loves to cut inside with his right foot," the coach said, describing him as a player who reads game situations well and is particularly difficult to defend against one-on-one.

Ganah, a 21-year-old academy product of the club, has been in prime form in this European run — he was on the scoresheet in Be'er Sheva's 2-0 win over Vikingur Reykjavik last week that sent them through 3-2 on aggregate, alongside a goal from Zahi Ahmad.

On the other side of the pitch, Matović pointed to Brazilian midfielder Lucas Ventura as the man who controls the team's identity. Ventura, he said, is "responsible for game management and applying pressure," acting as the hub of Be'er Sheva's aggressive, high-pressing style.

The coach did identify a potential route in for Red Star, however: breaking Be'er Sheva's initial press line, he suggested, is where the team can be hurt. He also flagged that right back Guy Mizrahi occasionally leaves space in behind — though he was careful to stress that, overall, Be'er Sheva are a well-organised, well-coordinated side.

Be'er Sheva arrive at this stage having needed a response after a 2-1 first-leg defeat away to Icelandic champions Vikingur Reykjavik, before winning the return 2-0 to progress on aggregate.

Red Star, by contrast, have barely broken sweat, thrashing Northern Ireland's Larne 9-0 across two legs of the previous round to book their place in the third qualifying round as Serbian champions.

For Be'er Sheva, a result over the two legs would represent a landmark European run for the club and open the door to the Champions League playoff round — with Ganah's directness and Ventura's control, by the assessment of a coach who knows Israeli football intimately, central to any chance of pulling it off.