Maccabi Haifa Faces Defensive Doubts Ahead of Derby Against Hapoel Haifa

Maccabi Haifa is preparing for the upcoming derby against Hapoel Haifa this Saturday as the new season opens. The team will hold a press conference on Friday at 12:30 PM featuring sporting director Lior Rafaelov and coach Barak Bachar, which will be broadcast live. Coach Bachar faces challenges in central defense, with Tsunami recently returning to training but needing to regain match fitness, and Nigel Lonwijk not registered for the match.

Pedro remains doubtful due to a groin injury sustained in the game against Hapoel Kfar Saba, having missed the last two training sessions. Young player Ard Geist is in contention to start alongside Noam Shteifman due to these defensive concerns. Bronninio, who is not fully fit, is expected to begin the match on the bench and possibly enter in the second half. Players Yila Btayi and Kenny Saif are unavailable due to fitness issues.

Omri Glazer and Yarin Levi are set to make their season debuts, while Yair Mordechai will make his official debut. Additionally, Rafaelov and Bachar are expected to decide on the team captain for the derby, with candidates including Kenji Hora, who captained the team against Kfar Saba, as well as Eitan Azulay, Sean Goldberg, and Ali Muhammad, though the latter two are currently not in the starting lineup.