- 1 Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Sabah: the least glamorous tie on the card, and one of the easiest to read
- 2 Hapoel Beer-Sheva: three straight clean sheets and a statement win over Belgrade
- 3 Sabah: six qualifiers, one defeat, and a roaring 4-0 comeback
- 4 Champions League prediction Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Sabah
- 5 First, a quick word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Sabah: the least glamorous tie on the card, and one of the easiest to read 
Across four qualification matches, Hapoel Beer-Sheva have conceded just two goals, both in the same game. That is the number that frames this first leg.
The Israeli club dumped Red Star Belgrade out in the previous round without giving up a goal across 180 minutes. It is the standout result of the whole run.
Sabah arrive as the underdog, but the Baku side are no makeweights. They won the Azerbaijani title last season ahead of Qarabag and have already come through three rounds to get here.
Kick-off is set for Wednesday, 19 August at 21:00, central European time. The return leg is in Baku on 25 August.
The UEFA coefficients show the gap: 14,000 for Hapoel Beer-Sheva, 6,000 for Sabah. The prices point to a 53% implied chance for the Israelis, 30% for the draw and 17% for the Azerbaijan side.
The real tactical battle is in transition. Both sides have built their run on compact shapes and counter-attacks, so this looks set to be tight, tense and short on clear chances.
Hapoel Beer-Sheva: three straight clean sheets and a statement win over Belgrade 
Israeli champions for the first time since 2017-2018, Hapoel Beer-Sheva did not get off to a smooth start. They lost 2-1 in Iceland to Vikingur Reykjavik in the second qualifying round.
The response in the second leg was immediate: a 2-0 win, and a 3-2 aggregate success. Since then, nobody has found the net against them.
The third round was the benchmark of the summer. They beat Red Star Belgrade 1-0 in the first leg, despite going down to 10 men, then won 0-2 in Serbia for a 3-0 aggregate sweep without conceding.
They are not at full strength, though. Dan Biton, who scored 15 goals and added three assists last season, has been out since pre-season, while Brazilian signing Joao Victor has not featured since his 30 minutes in the Super Cup final against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The biggest doubt is Kangwa. He finished with 12 goals and nine assists, but did not play a single minute against Belgrade and is still a major doubt for this first leg.
Even so, the attacking depth is there. Zlatanovic, who hit 14 league goals last season, Javon East, Zahi Ahmed and Amir Chaim Ganah have all scored at least once in these qualifiers. Left-back Matan Baltaxa, suspended for the second leg against Red Star, is back in the squad.
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Sabah: six qualifiers, one defeat, and a roaring 4-0 comeback 
Sabah started their summer in the first qualifying round. They beat The New Saints 2-0 at home, then lost 1-2 in Wales to progress 4-1 on aggregate.
The second round was completed without conceding against KuPS Kuopio. A 1-0 win in the first leg, a 0-2 victory in the return, and the Azerbaijani side kept rolling.
The wobble came in Denmark. Beaten 2-1 away to Aarhus in the third round, Sabah came back with a no-nonsense 4-0 win at home, the biggest hiding handed out by a side at this level this summer.
They also have a fresh domestic title to lean on, won ahead of Qarabag, a team that reached the last 16 of last season’s Champions League.
One absence is confirmed: K. Aliyev, who scored six league goals last season, has been out since pre-season. Frenchman Aaron Malouda, 20 and with nine league goals last year, has also moved to Basel in the 2026 summer window.
The forward line is still intact. Joy-Lance Mickels finished as top scorer in the Azerbaijani league with 19 goals, Veljko Simic scored 11 and Kaheem Parris netted seven. Simic and Mickels have both already made their mark in these qualifiers.
Probable Hapoel Beer-Sheva line-up: Not available at time of publication.
Probable Sabah line-up: Not available at time of publication.
Champions League prediction Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Sabah
Our prediction: Hapoel Beer-Sheva to win
The key argument comes down to three matches: Hapoel Beer-Sheva have not conceded since July, including while down to 10 men against Red Star Belgrade. Sabah have not faced a defence of that level this summer.
The imbalance also shows in the schedule. Sabah are already up to six qualifiers, compared with four for the Israelis, and the Baku club have already shipped two goals in their last European away trip.
The draw at 30% is the sensible alternative, not the Azerbaijan win at 17%. We are backing a home win for Hapoel Beer-Sheva.
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