Beitar Jerusalem Prepares for European Clash with Hapoel Tel Aviv as Yarden Shoa Returns

Almog Cohen will make his debut as head coach of Beitar Jerusalem on Saturday when the team faces Hapoel Tel Aviv in a key European competition match. This game marks the first meeting between the two Israeli representatives shortly before their European campaigns begin. Yarden Shoa is fit and available for selection, while Luka Gadrani and Tomer Yosefi remain sidelined due to incomplete recovery. Adi Yona is expected to return to full training in about a month. Brian Karveli will miss the match serving a suspension carried over from last season.

In preparation, Beitar trained with Liel Darai and Gil Cohen as the central defensive pairing, and either Jonbusco Calu or Shon Weissman is expected to lead the attack. Boris Ino will not start as the defensive midfielder following Yarin Levi's departure and his own return to Maccabi Haifa. The club emphasized the importance of the match, reminding players that as Toto Cup holders who defeated Hapoel in the final, this is not just another game.

Additionally, Daniel Vorko and Noam Motcha officially joined Beitar following an arbitration decision by Dan Hai, making them available for Cohen. The club praised the legal team and CEO Kfir Edri for their efforts, noting that the arbitration process saved owner Barak Abramov over 2.5 million shekels. Ahead of their away game against AEK Larnaca, the Cypriot club allocated only 500 tickets to Beitar fans, creating significant difficulties for supporters trying to secure seats through contacts on the island.