Still waiting for their first Europa League win of the season, Hapoel Be'er Sheva will face OFI Crete at Bucharest's Superbet Arena on Thursday.

The Camels are looking for a third victory on the bounce across all competitions, while O Omilos are eyeing their third in four games.

Match preview

Ran Kozuch's Be'er Sheva have struggled in UEFA's second-tier tournament, despite a strong start to their Israeli Premier League campaign.

The Camels hammered Maccabi Petah Tikva 5-2 on Sunday, coming back from 2-1 down at half time thanks to four different scorers in the second 45.

That triumph marked a sixth successive league victory for Kozuch's men, who had beaten Maccabi Haifa 5-2 on October 26, a stretch that has the club third in the table after nine games - one point behind leaders Maccabi Tel Aviv.

However, the situation in Europe is drastically different, with Be'er Sheva languishing 30th in the Europa League with just a single point to their name.

With that in mind, the nominal hosts will be desperate to make up the two-point gap to the top 24 on Thursday, especially after being thrashed 4-0 by Union Saint-Gilloise on matchday three.

Meanwhile, Christos Kontis's OFI started their league-phase campaign in strong fashion and sit higher in the table than their opponents, but arrive for this showdown in poor form.

O Omilos secured a memorable 2-0 triumph over Hoffenheim in their Europa League opener, marking their first appearance in the group stage or league phase of any UEFA competition since 2000 with three points at home.

That being said, Kontis's side have lost both of their European clashes since - 2-1 against Rennes on October 15 and 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen a week later.

Those defeats have left OFI 26th, where they are currently behind Hoffenheim, Anderlecht and AC Milan in the playoff spots on goal difference.

On a more optimistic note, the level of opposition the visitors have faced so far in the competition is significantly beyond what Be'er Sheva will pose on Thursday, and Os Omilos will be quietly confident of heading back to Crete with the win.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Europa League form:

Hapoel Be'er Sheva form (all competitions):

OFI Crete Europa League form:

OFI Crete form (all competitions):

Team News

Be'er Sheva will be without midfielder Lucas Ventura due to a hamstring injury, while Eliel Peretz is a doubt as he works his way back from a groin issue.

If the latter is unavailable, then Hamode Kanaan and Nic Yehoshua look set to join Forson Amankwah in the centre of the park.

Further forward, right winger Dan Biton is continuing his recovery from a viral heart condition he picked up in March, so expect to see Igor Zlatanovic lead the line, supported from out wide by Javon East and Zahi Ahmad.

As for OFI, they are missing a number of young players this week, including 18-year-old defenders Konstantinos Lagoudakis (muscle) and Pavlos Kenourgiakis (knock).

In their absence, Konstantinos Kostoulas, Achilleas Poungouras and Kresimir Krizmanic should be ready to start in front of goalkeeper Kildman Lilo.

Elsewhere, midfielders Fotis Koutsoupias and Manolis Chnaris are sidelined due to respective leg and cruciate ligament injuries, so Athanasios Androutsos and Andreas Bouchalakis should start in the middle third.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva possible starting lineup:

Marciano; Mizrahi, Vitor, Nachmias, Amador; Forson, Yehoshua, Kanaan; East, Zlatanovic, Ahmad

OFI Crete possible starting lineup:

Lilo; Kostoulas, Poungouras, Krizmanic; Dickmann, Bouchalakis, Androutsos, Athanasiou; Cantalapiedra, Kodro, Nuss

We say: Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1-2 OFI Crete

Be'er Sheva are without win so far in this Europa League season, though their domestic form has been strong, and they could find the back of the net in midweek.

That being said, OFI have proven competitive against Bundesliga and Ligue 1 opponents in the competition, and are likely to come out on top in a narrow win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.