Group A – Kick-off 19:45 (BST)
Without a goal or point to their name in Group A, Maccabi Haifa coach Elisha Levy wants his side to remove “that monkey on our shoulder” when they end their campaign against group winners Bordeaux.
Laurent Blanc, by contrast, will use the final match of the section to look at some of his younger players ahead of the resumption of the competition in February.
“If Bordeaux arrived without seven or eight players they could suffer, but you have to remember their squad is very strong and whoever faces us has a very impressive resumé,” said Levy. “We should still try our hardest and whatever result we will still go down in the history books. We will also be missing key players like Yaniv Katan, but it will still be a strong Haifa side.
“We are obviously bothered by the fact we haven’t scored a goal or collected a point. We have that monkey on our shoulder and we hope to remove it after this match. We are focused and ambitious as we all want to finish our European campaign on a high note. We were unlucky to be drawn in a very tough group with excellent teams and if you look at the statistics, not many goals were scored in all the group matches.
“Reaching the Champions League was an achievement in itself, but it’s not enough. Collecting compliments is far from points or goals. Alon Harazi will not start, but will make an appearance as a substitute to bow out on the biggest stage possible for such a great player.”
With qualification already assured, Blanc confirmed he will send out a side containing a mix of youth and experience.
“We can’t expect an easy match as Haifa caused us the most problems at this level,” he said. “They should have done better against us the first time. Although they didn’t score, they managed to play really well.
“We didn’t come here as tourists, although it’s almost impossible to come to Israel without going to see some of the sights. We visited Jerusalem, which was a good experience for the players’ cultural background, but we are still here to play and to win a game.
“We’re top of our group on merit and we’re not going to apologise for that. I will field a much more attacking lineup and play with a more direct approach than we did in the previous fixture.
“Despite what people might say, it is not going to be a young side but a blend of younger and more experienced players which should make for a dynamic and effective mix.”
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