Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Rigas FS Preview: Team News & Prediction

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Off the back of a shock win at Besiktas on Matchday 5, Maccabi Tel Aviv look to continue their late push for a play-off place against Latvian champions Riga FS.

Kick-off date/time: Thursday 12th December, 2024, UK – 8:00pm / US ET – 3:00pm / US PT – 12:00pm

How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / US – Paramount+

How to watch online: UK – discovery+ / US – Paramount+

Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Rigas FS Prediction

After losing their first four fixtures in the league phase, Maccabi Tel Aviv gave their qualification prospects a glimmer of hope with a surprise 1-3 win at Besiktas on Matchday 5, but they simply must back that up against one of the weaker sides in the competition.

Few could have predicted that the Israeli side would win in Turkey last time out as they had looked out of their depth up to that point, suffering defeats to Sporting Braga, Midtjylland, Real Sociedad and Ajax in their first four games. Their entire campaign has been plagued by inconsistency though, as they embarked upon a nine-game winning run in all competitions in August and September but then won just two of their next nine overall. They are, however, unbeaten in their last five games currently.

Recently-crowned Latvian champions Riga FS have found it tough going in the Europa League as they are yet to taste victory in the league phase. Draws against Galatasaray and Anderlecht, against both of whom they came from behind to take a point, have been the highlights to date, with losses to FCSB, Eintracht Frankfurt and PAOK leaving them on just two points at this stage.

Much depends upon which version of Maccabi Tel Aviv shows up here, as they have revealed themselves to be highly inconsistent this season, but they haven’t had a downward trajectory in a while now and they should have too much for the hosts, who have struggled in Europe.

Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Rigas FS Tip: Maccabi Tel Aviv to win