Europa League Odds and Preview: Hapoel Be'er Sheva vs Southampton
Published September 29, 2016 by Sol FH
Hapoel Be'er Sheva vs Southampton tonight in the first match of their draw live at 18:00 GMT from Israel.
The name Hapoel Be'er Sheva probably didn't mean anything to you until this season. In fact, the team was forgotten for a long time, 40 years to be exact in the Israeli Premier League until an owner, Alona Barkat, and a coach Barak Bachar took over. Since the duo has gotten together, they have won the league, just missed out on the Champions League after defeating Olympiacos and almost coming back on Celtic in aggregate goals, and most recently by beating Inter Milan in Italy 2-0. This has been like a dream for the team, but tonight will be their biggest challenge yet with the incredible Southampton squad coming to town.
Southampton are in great form, winning four matches straight in all competitions. They have their eyes set on a fifth straight win and they hope to do it in the brand new stadium built in Be'er Sheva last year. Teams have found that underestimating Hapoel is unwise, as Inter Milan played their a lot of their bench and were humiliated at home. True, Be'er Sheva did beat Olympiacos at full strength and the team is surprising everyone in Israel and amongst the teams that they have played in Europe so far this year.
Southampton Claude Paul has not conceded a goal in the team's last four matches and after what seemed like a slow start for the new manager, has become a huge impact at St. Mary's. Now, with a chance to take sole possession on Group K, Southampton and Be'er Sheva are going to leave it all on the pitch to get those three points. Hapoel may try to play for a draw, which would be equally as good for them with Sparta and Inter in third and fourth respectively.
bet365 Europa Betting
bet365 Sports gives the advantage in this match to Southampton at 2.37, while Be'er Sheva is not as far back as one would think at 3.00. A draw could be the best bet with Hapoel at home, with their die hard fans (some of the best in the world) at 3.20. There is live in play betting available throughout all 90 minutes of Europa League action.
