The Jerusalem derby that will be held this evening at the Teddy Stadium will not be similar to the derby we got in the first round, in which Hapoel Jerusalem won. The reason? The current Beitar Jerusalem is nothing like the weak team that started the season and grabbed the lead in round after round.
Not only has Bitar changed its face since that derby, it comes to this match with a very positive momentum, which can have a very big effect psychologically, since the players have more confidence, their belief in themselves has increased, and this is something that has already been proven and translates into good results. Unlike at home." R, specifically Hapoel Jerusalem, which was the surprise of the first round, has not been able to win a single game since returning from the World Cup break.
Beitar players celebrate with Nikolescu, photo: Barney Ardov
"A victory in this derby, and we are only four points from Hapoel Jerusalem. Maybe we can still think about fourth place," they say with a half-smile in Beitar, but at the same time they cool down and respect the opponent: "They have an excellent team.
If you go player-by-player in our squad, compared to their squad, we are not favorites."
The estimate: over ten thousand spectators.
Fourth place is not really interesting to Beitar, at least not at this stage. However, a victory in the derby will advance them towards the big goal - a place in the top playoffs for the first time in the 2019/2020 season, a possibility that in the previous derby sounded like a scenario from a fictional movie Low budget.
It is understood that a victory in the derby provides a very big morale boost for the rest of the season, while a loss can return Beitar, in a certain situation, to the struggles of the bottom. This is how it is in the crowded Premier League of the 2022/2023 season.
The thing is that the exciting and attacking Beitar of the last month will play without its executor and the top scorer of the league (11), Ion Nicolasco. This in itself is a "big disadvantage", as defined yesterday by his partner in attack Danilo Asperia, so that perhaps the key point of this game in terms of Beitar will be in defense, which is its weak point throughout the season.
If her defense works hard, shuts down the opponent's players properly and doesn't concede unnecessary goals, Asperia and Jordan Shua will have more chances to do their magic on the other side.
Like Nicolasco, the coach Yossi Abouxis, who has accumulated five yellow cards, will be absent, and the one who will stand on the lines in his place in the derby will be his assistant Gal Cohen.
In the stands, even though the Reds are hosting the game, the Beitar crowd will of course have an unequivocal advantage, and the estimates are that more than 10,000 of them will come to Teddy. Today they are expected to come to the final training session.
Aboxis.
Beitar will have to manage without him, photo: Kobi Eliyahu
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