Beer Sheva v Southampton: Puel win streak under threat in Israel
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Southampton are on the march following four straight wins which began with a 3-0 home triumph over Sparta Prague, yet their first away Europa League assignment could knock Saints off their stride.
Hapoel Beer Sheva may not be a name synonymous with continental exploits, yet the Israeli club have cared little for reputations in Europe so far this season.
Having landed their national title for the first time in 40 years in 2015/16, they ran Celtic very close in the second round of Champions League qualifying last month, defeating the Scots 2-0 at home but going out 5-4 on aggregate.
No sooner had they taken up residence in the Europa League group stage than they added another huge scalp, when defeating Inter 2-0 at the San Siro to kick off their Group K campaign.
Inter would go on to defeat Serie A champions Juventus in their very next fixture at home and currently sit fourth in Italy.
There’s little doubt Claude Puel’s visitors will be in for a tough evening at Stadium Vasermil, especially as Beer Sheva boast a 100 per cent record from five games in all comps there this term.
The hosts are priced at 9/4 alongside the draw, while the Premier League club look a tad short to back with confidence at 5/4.
A score draw could be the perfect compromise at 7/2, with both teams in comfortable positions having won their opening Group K matches.
With neither side giving away much defensively recently, 1-1 also looks tasty at 5/1 in our correct score market, while double chance on Beer Sheva is a decent compromise at 8/15.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
