Maccabi Tel Aviv come into this second leg with the tie finely poised at 0-0 after a tense first meeting in Switzerland. That goalless draw in Lugano tells you everything about the respect between these two sides — but also about Maccabi's defensive resilience away from home. They'll be buzzing to bring the tie back to Israel, where the atmosphere at Bloomfield Stadium can be a genuine twelfth man. Recent form in European qualifiers has been solid, with that impressive 5-0 demolition of Sheriff Tiraspol showing exactly what this squad can do when they click. Dor Peretz is the captain and the heartbeat, and he's been pulling the strings in midfield all summer.

Lugano, meanwhile, have started their domestic season strongly — the kicker headline says they're 'stark in die neue Saison gestartet' — but European nights away from home are a different beast. They'll have taken confidence from keeping Maccabi quiet in the first leg, but they also know they missed their chance to grab an away goal advantage. The Swiss side are dangerous going forward — the Dailysports preview noted 'both teams know how to attack' — but their recent European travels have often seen them struggle to impose themselves. This is a side that will sit deep and try to hit on the break, but Maccabi's momentum and home crowd give them the edge.