National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Maccabi Haifa or Sektzia Nes Tziona that keep their silverware dream alive.
There should be plenty of energy on the pitch in this game, as both sides have had time to recuperate from their last game. Let's hope both teams are ready to give it all.
Maccabi Haifa form and stats
Last season, Maccabi Haifa's State Cup journey ended in the 8th finals.The home supporters can't complain about results here as Maccabi Haifa have scored 16 goals to get 14 points from 6 games. The overall stats in the Ligat ha'Al are 4-2-0 (wins-draws-losses). Maccabi Haifa has a nice streak going on as they have played ten consecutive games without losing (regardless of home/away). They are keen to extend their tally, a streak that began after the Maccabi Tel Aviv defeat 90 days ago.
The home team returns after sharing the points with Hapoel Ra'anana on their last time out; the Ligat ha'Al game ended 0-0. Before that match, a Ligat ha'Al win away at Hapoel Be'er Sheva.
Another home game is coming up fairly shortly for the hosts, as Hapoel Haifa are coming to town in three days.
Maccabi Haifa are showing their attacking force in their league home games this season, scoring more than 2,5 goals per game on average (16 goals in 6 games). 8 goals have been conceded.
Sektzia Nes Tziona form and stats
They also participated in State Cup last season. This ended in the 8th round.There's been little loot from Sektzia Nes Tziona's travels as they have only collected 5 points from 7 away games in the Ligat ha'Al. Sektzia Nes Tziona only have 0 wins to counter their 2 defeats and 5 draws.
It's another away game for the visitors, as they travelled to Maccabi Tel Aviv in their previous outing. The Ligat ha'Al match ended in a draw 1-1. Prior to that match, the Sektzia Nes Tziona manager A. Turgeman faced defeat when travelling to Ironi Kiryat Shmona and losing 0-1.
A quick return to home after this game, as Sektzia Nes Tziona are hosting Maccabi Netanya in the Ligat ha'Al only four days away.
The attacking power of Sektzia Nes Tziona when travelling is not overwhelming with 5 goals scored from 7 league matches away. 9 goals have been conceded by Sektzia Nes Tziona in these games.
Head 2 Head
Top Goalscorers
  N. Rukavytsya 7 goals |  T. Chery 6 goals |  D. Haziza 4 goals |
Maccabi Haifa missing players
Sektzia Nes Tziona missing players
| Maccabi Haifa | Sektzia Nes Tziona | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 11 | Played | P | 12 | 25 | ||
| 15 | 7 | Won | W | 2 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Drew | D | 7 | 12 | ||
| 4 | 1 | Lost | L | 3 | 8 | ||
| 47 | 24 | Scored | S | 11 | 21 | ||
| 25 | 12 | Conceded | C | 14 | 31 | ||
| 92% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 92% | 84% | ||
| 84% | 91% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 75% | 72% | ||
| 60% | 55% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 33% | 40% | ||
| 28% | 36% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 8% | 12% | ||
| 12% | 18% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 0% | 0% | ||
| 52% | 64% | BTTS | BTTS | 67% | 52% | ||
| 36% | 27% | Clean Sheets | C S | 17% | 24% | ||
| 20% | 9% | Failed to Score | F T | 25% | 40% | ||
| 6.8 | 7.8 | Corners For (avg) | C F | 4.4 | 4.8 | ||
| 4 | 3.7 | Corners Against (avg) | C A | 5.1 | 5.2 | ||
| 2.2 | 2.1 | Yellow Cards (avg) | Y C | 2.2 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 0 | Red Cards | R C | 2 | 3 | ||
| 307 | 152 | Total Shots | T S | 97 | 210 | ||
| 144 | 72 | Shots on Target | S O | 42 | 88 | ||
| 33% | 33% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 26% | 24% | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 20 | 34 |
| 2 | Maccabi Haifa | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 19 | 31 |
| 3 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 23 |
| 4 | Beitar Jerusalem | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| 5 | Hapoel Haifa | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 21 |
| 6 | Maccabi Netanya | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 19 |
| 7 | Hapoel Hadera | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -1 | 18 |
| 8 | Bnei Yehuda | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 18 |
| 9 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 7 | -3 | 14 |
| 10 | Ashdod | 14 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -4 | 14 |
| 11 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 11 | -7 | 13 |
| 12 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 | -13 | 13 |
| 13 | Hapoel Ra'anana | 14 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 13 | -9 | 10 |
| 14 | Sektzia Nes Tziona | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 9 | -14 | 9 |