Europa League 2025-2026: Maccabi Tel Aviv-Dinamo Kiev, the likely lineups

Thursday, Aug. 21, at 8 p.m. Italian time, the TSC Arena in Bačka Topola (Serbia) will be the stage for the challenge between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dinamo Kiev, valid for the first leg of the UEFA Europa League playoffs. At stake is a place in the group stage of the 2025/26 competition, a key goal for two clubs that slipped into the “second tier” after eliminations in the Champions League preliminaries. The match is being played on a neutral field due to the well-known war events that prevent the Israeli outfit from playing at home.

The Belgrade yellows come into the fixture with growing confidence. After the resounding knockout in the second round of the Champions League against Pafos Cypriots (2-1 aggregate), Maccabi immediately reared its head again in the Europa League, regulating Hamrun Spartans without fuss with a clear 5-2 victory in the doubleheader. Also boosting morale are recent domestic successes: the club lifted the Toto Cup by beating Hapoel Jerusalem and arrives at the challenge with a streak of three consecutive wins, the longest since last spring.

A positive moment for Shovkovskyi’s team as well, at least on the domestic front. Dinamo started the Ukrainian league with three wins in as many days, which are worth the lone top spot in the standings. In Europe, however, the path so far has been bumpy: Pafos itself ousted the Ukrainians in the third preliminary round of the Champions League, forcing them to fall back on the Europa League. Last season Vanat and his teammates had reached the group stage, but without shining: this time the goal is to improve performance and international image.

Probable lineups:

Maccabi Tel Aviv (4-3-3): Mishpati; Asante, Stojic, Shlomo, Revivo; Peretz, Sissokho, Shahar; Davida, Madmon, Nicolaescu.
Coach: Lazetic

Dinamo Kiev (4-3-3): Neshcheret; Tymchyk, Popov, Mykhavko, Vivcharenko; Buyalskyi, Brazhko, Shaparenko; Yarmolenko, Kabayev, Vanat.
Coach: Shovkovskyi