Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Hapoel Beer Sheva prediction 30.05.2024

• Competition: State Cup
• Date: Thursday, 30th May, 2024
• Kickoff: 18:30 UTC +1 / 19:30 CEST
• Venue: Bloomfield Stadium (Tel-Aviv)

The football season in Israel is over. The only thing left to decide is the State Cup winner, where Hapoel Beer Sheva and Maccabi Petah Tikva will face off at a neutral location at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel-Aviv. 

In recent seasons, Maccabi Petah Tikva have constantly traveled between the first and second tiers of Israeli football. Last year, they won promotion after winning the Liga Leumit title, and this season secured survival fairly easily - seven points away from 13th-placed Hapoel Tel Aviv. But their run in the Cup has been really impressive since they eliminated teams like Hapoel Haifa and the best team in Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv. 

Hapoel Beer Sheeva have been among the best teams in Israel in the last decade, winning three league titles, two Cup titles, and three Super Cup titles. This year, they finished third and have already secured Europa Conference League Qualifiers via league finish. Still, the title was not too close as they finished 24 points behind the eventual champs, Maccabi Tel Aviv. In the Cup, they were super lucky as they avoided all teams from the Championship Group.

Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Hapoel Beer Sheva pick: Maccabi Petah Tikva to cover the +1 AH spread

These two teams are in totally opposite momentum. While Hapoel Beer Sheva lost three in a row with a terrible 2:11 goal difference, Maccabi Petah Tikva are in excellent form, winning ten points in four games with 12 scored goals! Yes, Petah Tikva had an easier schedule, but it is still an impressive mini-run. 

In the last 18 games in all competitions, Hapoel Beer Sheva haven't had a game where they won by two (or more) goals difference. In the Cup, they won three games by 1:0 and won one after the extra time. So, expecting a big win in the finals is not realistic. 

In the previous h2h game, we saw a 1:1 draw at Toto Turner Stadium in Be'er Sheva in a really close match. Now, on a neutral pitch, and considering the difference in form, we believe Petah Tikva should make this game close, and even if they lose, they shouldn't lose by more than one goal difference.