Hapoel Beer Sheva will take on Red Star Belgrade in UEFA Champions League third round second leg action on Tuesday night at the Marakana Stadium for a ticket to the playoff round of the competition after having beaten the Serbian side 1-0 in the first contest between the two.

Should Beer Sheva advance to the playoff round they will face the winner of the Sabah and Aarhus matchup with a victory sending them to the Champions League league phase and a loss dropping them to the league phase of the Europa League. If they lose to Red Star in their current two legged tie, they will drop to the playoff round of the Europa League where they would play Viktoria Plzen for a place in that competitions’s league phase and should they come up short to the Czechia side they will participate in the Conference League’s league phase.

Head Coach Ron Kozuk spoke about the upcoming clash, “We are aware of what we will face on Tuesday. I think there has been a lot of talk about the atmosphere and the fans, but first and foremost we will face an excellent team and that is where our focus is above all else. Igor Zlatanović is one of the most important players on our team and he will have to help us in this game just as he has been doing over the past year.”

As for how the club has getting ready Kozuk explained, “The preparations are basically the same preparations. On the one hand, it is much easier to prepare because we have already played one match against Red Star, so there are additional things we have discovered. But in terms of preparation, it is the same as before every game.”

Kozuk is well aware of the what the team he is facing can do on the pitch, “We know we are going to play against a very high-quality team. Red Star has its qualities and I think that when they play at home, regardless of who the opponent is, they always want to be the dominant, proactive and creative team. We understand that we are going to play against a very good team and we are preparing accordingly.”