- Hapoel form: Hapoel Beer-Sheva have won five, drawn one and lost four of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
- Red Star form: FK Red Star Belgrade have won six, drawn one and lost three of their last 10 in all competitions.
Red Star have momentum in a tight two-leg tussle
Form and predictions
Red Star are the team in better form going into Tuesday's UEFA Champions League Qualification 2026 clash with Hapoel Beer-Sheva, so it is logical to put the Serbian side in the primary prediction at 2.37, although there's still plenty of value to be had by backing the draw at 3.55 or home team at 2.9.
Crvena Zvezda have won four straight games, including a 4-0 win away to Larne and a 5-0 drubbing at home in UEFA Champions League Qualification 2026, while Hapoel responded to their 2-1 away defeat against Vikingur Reykjavik by beating the Icelandic side 2-0 today.
That result – their fifth win, first draw and fourth defeat in ten – was good to see, but it doesn't erase the underlying poor form that Hapoel have shown in their past five matches – one win and four defeats. Red Star have six wins, one draw and three defeats across their most recent ten and have the momentum to come through a tricky two-leg tussle in the first round of qualifying.
Tactics
Dejan Stanković has them playing an assertive, high-intensity game based on playing compact when defending, pressing waves to squeeze opponents and fast transitions to overwhelm opponents when they win possession.
Hapoel will be dangerous on the counter-attack
Ran Kozuch's Hapoel are a more flexible set-up, able to shift between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 shapes depending on the game and the opposition, but they are very much a results-oriented unit. They will look to play fast on the break and should provide Red Star with a tough test.
- Bruno Duarte is Red Star's early knockout weapon, with the midfielder banging in two goals in one match in UEFA Champions League Qualification 2026 so far, but Amir Ganah's one-goal-in-two games record is a positive sign that Hapoel have some spark in the forward line.
- The Serbians' 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 systems are built around overloading wide areas, playing direct balls into forwards and dominating the air.
- They have the quality and physicality to hold their own in that area, but Hapoel's counter-attacking threat makes us think this may be a lower-scoring game than first thought, so we're taking Under 2.5 goals at 1.78 and Both Teams To Score – No at 1.9.
