UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2020/21 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS BayArena - Leverkusen Thursday 26 November 2020 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Bayer 04 Leverkusen Group C - Matchday 4 Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC Last updated 24/11/2020 17:13CET Match background 2 Legend 3 1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC Thursday 26 November 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit BayArena, Leverkusen Match background After a pulsating comeback win in Israel on Matchday 3, 2019/20 quarter-finalists Bayer Leverkusen know that a repeat victory against Hapoel Beer-Sheva on home soil will put them in a strong position to qualify from a closely contested Group C. • Dutch striker Elton Acolatse's second double in as many Group C home fixtures put Hapoel 2-1 up in Petah Tikva last time out, but Leverkusen fought back to win 4-2, Leon Bailey also helping himself to two goals as the German club joined Slavia Praha on six points at the top of the table, three ahead of both Hapoel and Nice. Previous meetings • The Matchday 3 fixture was Hapoel's first UEFA encounter with German opposition. In Leverkusen's only previous pairing with an Israeli club they won both matches against Maccabi Tel-Aviv (2-0 a, 2-1 h) in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League first group stage. Form guide Leverkusen • Fifth place in the 2019/20 Bundesliga earned Leverkusen a return to the UEFA Europa League, where they reached the quarter-finals last season after finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group. They won both legs against Porto in the round of 32 (2-1 h, 3-1 a) and Rangers in the round of 16 (3-1 a, 1-0 h) before losing their last-eight encounter 2-1 to Internazionale in nearby Düsseldorf. They also reached the final of last season's DFB-Pokal, losing 4-2 to Bayern München. • This is the 1987/88 UEFA Cup winners' sixth appearance in the UEFA Europa League proper and fourth in the group stage. They have never failed to progress to the knockout phase, topping the group in their most recent participation two seasons ago ahead of Ludogorets, Zürich and AEK Larnaca. • The Werkself's overall home record in the UEFA Europa League, play-offs included, is W12 D5 L2, with no defeats in the last nine matches (W6 D3). Home and away, they have lost just two of their last 13 matches in the competition (W8 D3), most recently going down 1-0 at Slavia Praha on Matchday 2, although those two defeats have come in their last four games. Hapoel • Fourth in the Israeli league in 2019/20, Hapoel secured European qualification for the seventh successive season by winning the Israeli State Cup, beating Maccabi Petach-Tikva 2-0 in the final. Last season's European adventure ended in the UEFA Europa League play-offs against Feyenoord (0-3 a, 0-3 h). • This season Josef Abukasis's side won their play-off tie, 1-0 at home to Viktoria Plzeň, following earlier qualifying phase successes against Dinamo Batumi (3-0 h), Laç (2-1 a) and Motherwell (3-0 h). Hapoel are therefore competing in the UEFA Europa League group stage for the third time, having previously participated in 2016/17 – when they beat Internazionale twice and reached the round of 32 – and 2017/18 – when they finished bottom of their group. • The Israeli side's away record in the UEFA Europa League proper is W1 D2 L5. The victory at Laç this term is the only success in Hapoel's last eight European away fixtures (D3 L4), a 1-0 reverse at Nice on Matchday 2 their most recent defeat. Links and trivia • Leverkusen defender Aleksandar Dragović's next appearance in the UEFA Europa League, group stage to final, will be his 50th. The Austrian international has previously played in the competition for three other clubs – Austria Wien, Basel and Dynamo Kyiv. • Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz was in charge of Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the second half of the 2015/16 season. His two matches against Hapoel were both draws (1-1 a, 0-0 h). • Argentinians Lucas Alario (Leverkusen) and César Meli (Beer-Sheva) played against each other three times in the Buenos Aires derby for River Plate and Boca Juniors respectively. • Hapoel defender Loai Taha, who has started the club's first three group games, celebrates his 31st birthday on Matchday 4. • Leverkusen's fourth appearance in the UEFA Europa League group stage is a record for a German club. They are also now the highest-scoring Bundesliga club in the competition, on 68 goals, having overtaken Eintracht Frankfurt with their fifth goal in the 6-2 win at home to Nice on Matchday 1. • The Rhineland club are one of six former UEFA Cup winners in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage – along with PSV Eindhoven (Group E), Napoli (F), Tottenham (J), CSKA Moskva and Feyenoord (both K). 2 Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC Thursday 26 November 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit BayArena, Leverkusen Legend Competitions Club competitions National team competitions UCL: UEFA Champions League EURO: UEFA European Football Championship ECCC: European Champion Clubs' Cup WC: FIFA World Cup UEL: UEFA Europa League CONFCUP: FIFA Confederations Cup UCUP: UEFA Cup FRIE: Friendly internationals UCWC: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup U21FRIE: Under-21 friendly internationals SCUP: UEFA Super Cup U21: UEFA European Under-21 Championship UIC: UEFA Intertoto Cup U17: UEFA Under-17 Championship ICF: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup U16: UEFA European Under-16 Championship U19: UEFA Under-19 Championship U18: UEFA European Under-18 Championship WWC: FIFA Women's World Cup WEURO: UEFA European Women's Championship Competition stages Other abbreviations F: Final GS: Group stage (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties GS1: First group stage GS2: Second group stage No.: Number og: Own goal 3QR: Third qualifying round R1: First round ag: Match decided on away P: Penalty R2: Second round R3: Third round goals agg: Aggregate R4: Fourth round PR: Preliminary round Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances SF: Semi-finals QF: Quarter-finals Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition R16: round of 16 QR: Qualifying round Pts: Points D: Drawn R32: Round of 32 1QR: First qualifying round R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth 1st: first leg 2QR: Second qualifying Res.: Result ET: Extra Time round sg: Match decided by silver GA: Goals against 2nd: second leg FT: Final tournament goal t: Match decided by toss of a PO: Play-off ELITE: Elite round coin Rep: Replay 3rdPO: Third-place play-off GF: Goals for W: Won PO - FT: Play-off for Final GS-FT: Group stage – final gg: Match decided by golden Y: Booked Tournament tournament goal L: Lost Y/R: Sent off (two yellow Nat.: Nationality cards) N/A: Not applicable f: Match forfeited Statistics -: Denotes player substituted +: Denotes player introduced *: Denotes player sent off +/-: Denotes player introduced and substituted Squad list D: Disciplinary *: Misses next match if booked S: Suspended QUAL: All UEFA qualifiers UEL: Current season total UEFA Europa League appearances from the group stage onwards prior to the current matchday UEL: Total appearances in the UEFA Europa League, group stage to final only UEFA: All-time total appearances in UEFA club competition including qualifying Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com. 3.