Beitar Jerusalem v Hapoel Haifa
Monday 19:00
Spezia and Lecce left Kev a goal short of the holiday spectacular he was hoping for in Italy yesterday. But he still finishes 2018 in the black, so it's a well-earned Happy New Year to him - and, of course, to all of you.
We're signing out of 2018 with a bet from Israel. If it wins, we'll have made a 20pt profit on the year, with an ROI of 11.7%. Here goes...
Beitar Jerusalem have finished third in each of the last three Israeli Premier campaigns. This time around, they are not doing so well. The Lions are down in 12th and new boss Nir Klinger has not delivered the bounce he would have hoped for. At Teddy Stadium, the hosts are W1-D2-L4, with the solitary success coming back in September. Since then, they've scraped together just two points from a possible 15.
In recent seasons, Hapoel Haifa have not been as strong as the Lions overall, but they have been improving. Fourth last season, Sharon Mimer's men can go sixth in the current table with a win this evening. The Sharks are outsiders to do that, but we fancy they can take something away with them from the Holy City. They are unbeaten in six on the road, scoring 11 times in winning each of their most recent four away games. Even when Beitar were in better form, Hapoel acquitted themselves well at Teddy Stadium, going W2-D3-L1 in league meetings there since 2013. We're backing them to grab at least a point this evening.
Recommended bets
Back Hapoel Haifa +0.5 on the Asian Handicap @ 1.865/6 v Beitar Jerusalem
2018 P/L (1pt per bet)
Staked: 170pts
Returned: 189.16pts
P/L: +19.16pts