Maccabi Petah Tikva Midfielder Lior Kasa Returns from Injury for Hapoel Haifa Clash

Maccabi Petah Tikva midfielder Lior Kasa is set to make his return to the starting lineup on Saturday against Hapoel Haifa, after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury. The team, which has lost its last three matches prior to the international break, hopes for a fresh start under coach Ziv Arie. Adar Ratner remains sidelined with an injury.

Coach Ziv Arie plans to maintain a three-defender formation, with Samuel Owusu and Aviv Salem expected to play on the flanks. Kasa will feature in midfield alongside Eyal Einbrom and Liran Hazan. The team is looking to rebound from a difficult period and secure a positive result in the away game.

"We are returning to the league with not good feelings, and we have a difficult task tomorrow. A difficult game, a difficult and very talented team. We will make every effort, if we didn't start well, to finish well," Arie stated. He added that solutions for the match against Hapoel Haifa would be kept internal.

Kasa expressed his excitement about returning to play after a year-long absence. "After a year, I am finally returning to play. There is a lot of excitement, and I am certainly ready to help the team and myself succeed in tomorrow's game. After a period of three losses, every point is important right now. It is a very difficult away game and we need to come to it prepared and focused," he said.

The expected lineup includes Maor Erlich, Samuel Owusu, Illuz Yao, Guy Dezent, Eitan Tibi, Aviv Salem, Eyal Einbrom, Lior Kasa, Liran Hazan, Jose Cortes, and Marko Racuniac.