Maccabi Haifa Features New Striker Novakovic in Starting Lineup

Maccabi Haifa will host Hapoel Petah Tikva on Saturday, marking the first time striker Andrea Novakovic will start for the team. Novakovic, who previously came off the bench against Hapoel Ramat Gan and Maccabi Tel Aviv, is set to play as the central forward, a role he is expected to fill throughout the upcoming season. He will be joined upfront by Kenny Saief and Cedric D'Un. In his previous appearances, Novakovic was observed dropping back to participate in ball movement. The team is anticipated to adopt a more tactically flexible formation, relying on the speed of D'Un and Bruninho, a departure from the style of Silva Kani, who also played as a forward but primarily moved forward.

Novakovic has registered one shot on goal so far, a header in stoppage time against Maccabi Tel Aviv, and won two out of three duels in that match. Last season in Italy's second division, he started 15 league games, scoring five goals and providing one assist. He signed a two-year contract and earns approximately 300,000 euros per season. Last year, Novakovic averaged 1.2 key passes per 90 minutes for a lower-table team in Italy's second tier. The 1.92-meter forward is described as physical and clocked a top speed of 34 km/h last season.