After yesterday's emotions at the Champions League, it is time for the matches of UEFA Champions League. We decided to analyze the match which will be held in several hours at the Brittania Stadium, where Stoke City will host Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Classification
Stock is still the leader of the group E having 4 points on its account. Beşiktaş Istanbul (3 points) and Dynamo Kyiv (2 points) go right behind it. The last team from the capital of Israel has only 1 point.

Team’s condition:
The Potters have been playing very well since the very beginning of the season. The 7th place in the Premier League is not just a sheer luck. Stoke tied Manchester United, but surprisingly lost the away game against Swansea only to win against Fulham at home. Their opponent is the leader of Ligat ha'Al. After 8 matches it has 16 points, but during the last two rounds they hardly won 1 point.

Potential and team’s situation:
It is obvious that Tony Pulis integrated new players into the team quite perfectly (Woodgate, Palaciosa, Croucha). If we study the Potters more carefully, we will realize that their success is not just a coincidence. Huth, Pennant, Delap, Etherington, Crouch and Palacios have substantial experience in the league and European Cup. Stock will field a weakened side without the following players: Wilkinson, Diao and Jonesa, but the head coach may replace them anytime. The Israeli club is not in such a good situation. As you can see from their away matches, the team has huge problems with earning points.

History of the matches:
These teams have never met at the same stadium since Stock took the last position in the Premier League table in the previous seasons, and a few years ago, they were in the lower divisions.

Forecast and the justifications
Stoke City is a typical team of its own stadium, which showed this in the games against Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester and Besiktas. The British play a solid football typical for the British islands, but we cannot say that the Stock football players are "rude". The visiting team will not be prepared for such a game and pace. We do not think that the hosts are less eager to win the European Cup, even if their position in the Premier League is not bad. According to our opinion you should try handicap betting and the odds at Bet365 are 2.20.