Royale Union Saint-Gilloise defend their unbeaten start to this UEFA Europa League (UEL) campaign against a Hapoel Be’er Sheva side who rarely win on the road in this competition.
Match News and Current Form
Royale Union extended their impressive unbeaten run to ten matches across all competitions (W7, D3) by beating Nijlen 3-0 on Sunday. That sequence includes their opening two league phase fixtures, with the Belgian side following up a 3-0 success over Viktoria Plzeň on matchday one with a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad here last week. The latter of those results means Union have lost just one of their last 11 group/league phase fixtures as designated hosts in this competition (W5, D5) despite not playing at their own ground, while they’ve not lost a game in which they were listed as hosts since December (W17, D5).
Hapoel Be’er Sheva appear unlikely to end that streak as they arrive in Belgium winless on the road in the UEL since a famous win over Inter in 2016 (D2, L8)! The last five of those fixtures have all ended in defeat, including a 2-1 loss at AZ Alkmaar last week which kept them winless in the league phase (D1, L1). The Camels at least responded by beating Hapoel Jerusalem 2-1 at the weekend for a fourth win in six across all competitions (D1, L1), but those two failures coming in this competition have dented their chances of reaching the knockout stage of a European competition for the first time since 2016/17.
Head-to-Head History
This is Royale Union’s first meeting with an Israeli side, while Hapoel are winless in their two previous clashes with Belgian clubs (D1, L1), although they both came 50 years ago.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Ten of Royale Union’s last 15 goals in major European matches have come from set-pieces.
No team had more shots on target than Royale Union (18) across the first two matchdays.
Hapoel have only failed to score in one of their last 12 away fixtures across all competitions.
Hapoel have received 2+ yellow cards in seven of their eight European outings this term.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Raul Florucz has scored eight of his last ten goals for Royale Union after half-time, with six of those strikes serving as the first or last of the match. Hapoel’s Eliel Peretz has picked up a yellow card in eight of his 14 games this term, with two of those bookings leading to a red card.
Royale Union’s lengthy injury list is likely to include Kevin Mac Allister, Ilan Hurtevent and Kevin Rodríguez. Idan Nachmias came off in Hapoel’s defeat to AZ.
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Betting Analysis
The way these teams perform at home and away means this fixture looks destined for a Royale Union SG win.
Author: Matt Jones