Maccabi Tel Aviv to Face Hapoel Tel Aviv in State Cup Derby

The draw for the eighth round of the 2026/27 State Cup in football was held on Thursday at the VIP lounge of Ramat Gan Stadium. The draw produced a highly anticipated matchup: defending cup holders Maccabi Tel Aviv will once again face their city rivals, Hapoel Tel Aviv, in a derby to be played at Bloomfield Stadium. Fourteen Israeli Premier League teams entered the competition at this stage, with the matches scheduled to take place between December 24th and 28th. Alongside the Tel Aviv derby, the draw also set up several other intriguing encounters between Premier League clubs. League champions Hapoel Be'er Sheva will play away against Bnei Sakhnin, while Beitar Jerusalem will host MS Ashdod. Maccabi Haifa secured a home draw against Hapoel Ra'anana, and Maccabi Netanya will host Hapoel Kfar Saba. Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Haifa will also meet, with the Jerusalem team being the home side. Hapoel Petah Tikva will travel to play Hapoel Rishon LeZion, and Ironi Tiberias will host Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Malakhi. For Maccabi Tel Aviv, this draw means an immediate encounter with a familiar city rival in their first match of the competition. The cup holders, aiming to retain their title this season, will need to overcome Hapoel Tel Aviv to advance to the next round. The winners of these matches will proceed to the round of 16.