2026-2027 Champions League: Hapoel Beer Sheva vs. Red Star Belgrade, Probable Lineups

The third qualifying round of the 2026–2027 Champions League kicks off on Tuesday evening, marking the penultimate hurdle before the group stage, which begins on September 8. One of the contenders for one of the seven remaining spots to complete the “Magnificent 36” is Red Star Belgrade, which, after defeating Larne in the second round, will face Hapoel Beer Sheva.

The first leg will be played on neutral ground at the Haladas Sportkomplexum in Szombathely, Hungary; kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The unstable geopolitical situation in the Middle East has led UEFA to confirm that it is impossible to play European matches in Israel: After defeating Vikingur in the previous round (2-0 in the second leg in Hungary following a 2-1 loss in Iceland), the Israeli champion club enters as the underdog but intends to make the most of every opportunity to advance to the next round.

On the other side, however, is a highly motivated Red Star, as demonstrated by their one-sided two-legged series against Larne: after a 4-0 away win—featuring a penalty kick by Bruno Duarte, Kostov, Bruno Duarte again, and Cham), the team coached by Dejan Stankovic also cruised to a 5-0 victory at the Marakàna, with goals from Katai, Arnautovic (a brace for the former Inter player), Loizou, and Bukari. The Red-and-Whites have also gotten off to a great start in the league: a 5-0 win over Macva on the first matchday and a 3-1 victory over Vojvodina on the second.

Probable Lineups

HAPOEL BEER SHEVA (4-3-3): Marciano; Mizrahi, Rotman, Vitor, Baltaxa; Yehoshua, Ventura, Kangwa; East, Zlatanovic, Ahmed. Coach: Kozuch.

RED STAR (4-3-2-1): Matheus; Seol, Uchenna, Veljkovic, Strika; Loizou, Abu Fani, Krunic; Katai, Cham; Arnautovic. Coach: Stankovic.