Maccabi Haifa vs Kiryat Shmona Prediction: League leaders to get back to winning ways

At Sammy Ofer Stadium, the match between Maccabi Haifa and Kiryat Shmona that is part of the round of 22 for the Israel Premier League will take place. Kiryat Shmona, who were the visitors, were defeated by Hapoel Jerusalem in their most recent match, while the home team was unable to win any of their last three matches.

After seeing their most recent two matches end in ties against Maccabi Bnei Raina and Netanya, Maccabi Haifa will be hoping for a stronger showing in this match. The team that is currently in first place in the league had a performance that was somewhat disappointing, as they lost all three of their most recent matches, scoring only twice while allowing three goals to be scored against them. However, prior to those results, they went a perfect 12 matches in a row without suffering a loss, winning 11 games and drawing one with Aris. With 49 points after 20 games played, Maccabi Haifa continues to hold the top spot in the league. This season in the league, they have scored 40 goals while only allowing 18 goals against.

Kiryat Shmona and their supporters will be hoping for a different outcome this time after the team's most recent Ligat HaAl match ended in a loss to Beitar Jerusalem. Ion Nicolăescu (49', 88') and Danilo Moreno (64') scored for Beitar Jerusalem. The statistics show that Kiryat Shmona have conceded goals in five of their previous six matches, for a total of eight goals allowed by them to be scored by their opponents. Kiryat Shmona's defensive scheme has a few holes that need to be patched up. Kiryat Shmona has not been victorious against Maccabi Haifa in any of the five away league matches that the two teams have competed in against one another during the course of the recent season, and they will be eager to put an end to this streak. In their most recent two league matches played away from home, they have not been victorious either time.

Maccabi Haifa is without a doubt the favorite to win this match, and we anticipate that they will reverse all of the recent negative outcomes that they have had in this match and win at home. They have an edge due to the fact that the opposing squad, who are traveling, are not a particularly great team either; we anticipate that they will use this to their advantage.

The away team appears to be very poor, particularly on offense, and this will force them to play more defensively. Therefore, a dominant performance from Maccabi Haifa will make it more difficult for them to score a goal in this match.

In addition, taking into account that the home club has not been performing particularly well as of late, we anticipate a very defensive effort from them, which should result in a 2-0 victory for the home team.