Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Hapoel Hadera Prediction & Betting Tips (31 January)

Maccabi Petah Tikva currently find themselves on an 11-game winless run at the top table of the Ligat ha'Al, and five of their last nine encounters have ended in defeat. The contrast with Hapoel Hadera could not be much more striking, so all the signs point in one direction.

Maccabi Petah Tikva have become renowned for keeping things tight on home soil, with 17 of their previous 20 top-flight fixtures, including nine in a row of late, serving up under 2.5 goals. A thriller would therefore seem unlikely against most opponents, but particularly against a Hapoel Hadera side that has been involved in 13 such low-scoring encounters across their last 16 trips.

Over the course of their last 15 Ligat ha'Al matches, Hapoel Hadera have been involved in just a couple of contests in which both teams have found the net, so this is a pretty unusual occurrence. Not only that, but at least one of the two goalkeepers has emerged with a clean sheet from eight of the previous 13 top-flight fixtures involving Maccabi Petah Tikva.