What do we know about Hapoel Be’er Sheva?

Celtic are just one step away from reaching the Champions League group stages, but face a difficult tie against unknown opponents, Hapoel Be’er Sheva. Hapoel, who have been impressive in qualifying, travel to Celtic Park on Wednesday aiming to get in the Champions League group stages for the first time in their history.

So what do we know about Hapoel Be’er Sheva?

Founded in 1949, Hapoel Be’er Sheva were crowned champions of Israel for the first time in 40 years. They play at the Tuner Stadium which holds a capacity of around 16,000, have already beaten, Sheriff Tiraspol and Greek giants Olympiakos to reach the play-off stage.

European Pedigree

Hapoel Be’er Sheva have yet to make a group stage of any UEFA tournament (Europa League or Champions League) but have plenty of experience in the qualifiers. In the last two seasons, Hapoel have entered the Europa League qualifiers only to be knocked out of the second round by a single goal on both occasions.

As well as this, in 1995/96 Uefa Cup, Hapoel made it past the qualifying round only to play Barcelona and be thrashed 12-0 on aggregate. This season, however, they beat Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol 3-2 on aggregate, and then beat Champions League regulars Olympiakos by a single goal to reach this stage.

Danger Men

Their main danger man up front and captain, Elyaniv Barda, is expected to miss at least the first leg with a groin injury.

Ben Sahar, could prove to a be tough customer for the Celtic defence to handle. Playing on te left wing, he is likely to test Mikael Lustig and keep the Swede on his toes all night. Having signed for Chelsea as a youngster from Hapoel Tel Aviv back in 2006, Sahar has been a journeyman around Europe and played for clubs such as Espanyol, Auxerre and Dutch side Willem II.

John Ogu is also another name to look out for. The Nigerian, who has played for Portuguese side Académica, is the glue that holds the Hapoel midfield together. He will be a key player in this play-off tie and will look to dominate the middle of the park alongside his teammates. Ogu isn’t goal shy either, having already scored in the qualifying rounds against Sheriff.

Where the tie could be won and lost

Celtic go into the tie on some great form but it’s important to remember what happened last season against Malmo. That night, Celtic did everything offensively correctly. Their attacking play was some of the best under Ronny Deila, but ultimately it was the mistakes at the back which cost Celtic.

This cannot happen again, and I’m sure Brendan Rodgers knows that too. What will be a key tussle will be at the heart of the midfield. Scott Brown, who looked out of sorts during pre-season, has picked himself up and now looks to be that player ready to dominate the midfield again. Brown and Ogu will more than likely go head-to-head during the and it’s critical that Brown wins this battle.

Hapoel Be’er Sheva manager, Barak Bakhar, though will be pleased that his side have not conceded away from home in qualifying but will be disappointed that they have yet to score away from Israel. An impressive draw in Athens in last round against Olympiakos however, will show that Hapoel are no pushovers.

In fact, to give Celtic fans some perspective, Hapoel may be a better version of Qarabag. Qarabag who you may remember, were neat and tidy in possession but offered very little up top. Hapoel however will have more firepower than them.

What is vital however, is that Celtic take a lead over to Israel. Why? Because now the Hoops pose a real threat which they haven’t had in years in Europe. Pace. With Scott Sinclair, James Forrest and maybe a returning Patrick Roberts (if fit) now in the squad, Rodgers now has a side that, if do the job here at Celtic Park, can be a massive threat away form home on the counter attack.

The last thing Celtic need is to go and chase a winning scoreline over in Isreal because it will no doubt favour Hapeol who rarely concede goals. Providing Celtic take a positive scoreline to Israel, then the Hoops can happily absorb any pressure and counter their opponents which will favour Celtic’s new-look attack.