One of the return matches of the 1/16 finals will take place earlier than the others and is scheduled for Wednesday. It will feature two clubs that are unlikely to qualify for the Conference League. Ghent has been carrying the burden of playing clubs from Israel all football year. At the group stage, the team faced teammates Maccabi Haifa from Tel Aviv and turned out to be weaker than the competitor, losing to him two points in the standings. Ghent lost points twice in the group, losing on Serbian soil to Maccabi and drawing with Zarya on Polish soil. The team from Haifa started the European Cup season in the Europa League. There, the Israelis were unlucky with the draw, which put them in the "group of death". Maccabi could not compete with Villarreal and Rennes for the first positions, so they focused on the fight for third place with Panathinaikos. The Greek club knocked out Marseille in the Champions League qualification, so had no problems with confidence in their abilities, but the competition to the club from Haifa lost, losing to him in his home walls in the decisive confrontation. Bookmakers have identified the hosts as favorites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.88 on their victory.

The first match between the rivals took place in the capital of Hungary a week ago. With equal chances of success, Ghent dominated almost the whole match, but Maccabi won. None of the twenty shots towards the Israeli club's goal brought success to the Belgians, but Pierro did not miss his chance in the 65th minute - 1:0. Maccabi is currently leading the national league with an average performance of more than two goals per game. Given that the team scored only three goals in six games in the group stage and didn't really shine with an abundance of goals in Budapest, there's a chance of a breakthrough in Belgium. Especially since Ghent's defence isn't exactly reliable at the moment. In 2024, the Belgian team took part in eight meetings and managed not to concede only last Sunday in Eupen. In the last round of the Belgian league Ghent won their first victory since December last year, so they will be determined to show their attacking prowess once again and level the scoreline. Both opponents will be characterised by goals.