Although Maccabi Tel Aviv has not yet appointed a head coach, the club learned who its potential first opponents in the Europa League qualifiers could be as they will face the winner of the tie between Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova and Aluminij of Slovenia. Maccabi will “host” the return leg.

Maccabi was originally scheduled to enter in the first qualifying round, but a rebalancing mechanism triggered by Aston Villa’s Europa League triumph moved the Israeli club directly into the second qualifying round. With a UEFA coefficient of 32.5 points, Maccabi was seeded which allowed Maccabi to avoid stronger opponents such as Benfica, Ferencváros, and Midtjylland.

The first leg will be played on July 23, with the return leg one week later on July 30.

Among the two possible opponents, Sheriff is undoubtedly the more famous and intriguing club. It became well known throughout Europe after its stunning 2–1 victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu in the 2021/22 Champions League group stage.

Founded in 1997, Sheriff initially competed under the name Tiras Tiraspol before being rebranded after the Sheriff conglomerate, the largest company in Transnistria, a breakaway region internationally recognized as part of Moldova.

Since then, Sheriff has dominated Moldovan football, winning 21 league titles, 14 domestic cups and 7 Super Cups as the club, nicknamed “The Wasps,” plays in yellow and black at Sheriff Stadium, which seats 12,746 spectators.

Its greatest achievement came in 2021/22, when it became the first Moldovan club ever to reach the Champions League group stage. After beating Shakhtar Donetsk 2–0, Sheriff shocked the football world by defeating Real Madrid 2–1 in Madrid.

Sheriff also has a history against Israeli clubs and were eliminated by Hapoel Beer Sheva in the 2016/17 Champions League qualifiers and later faced Maccabi Haifa in the 2023/24 qualifiers.

One notable aspect of Sheriff’s current squad is the presence of Israeli striker Qays Ghanem while Liam Hermesh recently completed a loan spell at the club and returned to Maccabi Haifa. Defensive midfielder Marcelin Carasso is the anchor while Colombian striker Jader Asprilla and Bulgarian goalkeeper Ivan Dyulgerov are also important contributors to the club’s success.

The other possible opponent for Maccabi Tel Aviv is Aluminij which hails from the Slovenian town of Kidričevo. Founded in 1946, the club previously won the Slovenian Republic League during the Yugoslav era and has spent much of its history moving between Slovenia’s first and second divisions.

In 2024/25, Aluminij won the second division and earned promotion back to the top flight. In 2025/26, the club finished seventh and achieved a significant milestone by winning the Slovenian Cup which allowed them to participate in the Europa League qualifiers.

Aluminij’s most valuable player is North Macedonian winger Bahar Feta while left-back Vid Koderman and defenders Rok Schaubach, Stefanos Evangelou and Amir Saitoski are key players in the squad.