Maccabi Tel Aviv take on Qarabag FK on Thursday evening knowing that victory could be enough to earn a place in the Europa League last 32.
Despite having already been eliminated from the competition, Qarabag will be desperate to ensure that they do not end Group I without recording a point.
Match preview
Having witnessed his side suffer a heavy defeat to Villarreal on matchday three, Maccabi Tel Aviv boss Giorgos Donis would have had concerns regarding the reverse fixture on home territory.
However, the Israeli side produced a resolute performance, fighting back to claim a 1-1 draw to remain in second spot in the group.
With Sivasspor to come next week, Maccabi still have much work to do, and Donis will acknowledge that his players must take advantage of Qarabag's lack of confidence.
Maccabi have improved on the domestic front in recent weeks, with their 3-0 success over Hapoel Kfar Saba at the weekend extending their unbeaten record to six matches.
Qarabag have been equally impressive in the Azerbaijani top flight, recording 15 points from seven matches to sit in first position on goal difference.
Gurban Gurbanov and his squad have had much less to shout about on the continent with four successive defeats resulting in their early exit from this tournament.
However, that does not tell the whole story after Qarabag squandered leads against Villarreal and Sivasspor in their previous home fixtures.
They also only suffered defeat in the reverse fixture by a 1-0 scoreline, ultimately losing out to Yonatan Cohen's 10th-minute strike in Tel Aviv.
Qarabag FK Europa League form: LLLL
Qarabag FK form (all competitions): WLWWLD
Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa League form: WWLD
Maccabi Tel Aviv form (all competitions): DLWWDW
Team News
Qarabag will be able to call upon Filip Ozobic, who has served a one-match suspension for three yellow cards.
The Croatian could come back into the side as a replacement for Owusu Kwabena, while Abdellah Zoubir should feature after only being named as a substitute at the weekend.
Maccabi will be without left-back Saborit, who was handed a late red card in the meeting with Villarreal.
Ofir Davidzada is expected to take his spot in defence, but former Blackburn Rovers man Nick Blackman is likely to be named among the replacements.
Qarabag FK possible starting lineup:
Mahammadaliyev; Guerrier, Qarayev, Renteria, Jafarguliyev; Matic, Ibrahimli; Bayramov, Ozobic, Zoubir; Anar
Maccabi Tel Aviv possible starting lineup:
Tenenbaum; Kandil, Tibi, Hernandez, Davidzada; Biton, Glazer, Peretz, Cohen; Golasa, Pesic
We say: Qarabag FK 1-2 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Despite their losing streak, Qarabag have been far more competitive in this group than their results suggest. Nevertheless, with Sivasspor to come on matchday six, Maccabi will be motivated to get a potentially-decisive result on the board on Thursday night, something which could see them show a greater cutting edge in attack.
Top betting tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
