Hapoel Beer Sheva v OFI Crete: UEFA Europa League preview

The occasion and the table

Hapoel Beer Sheva host OFI Crete in the UEFA Europa League, with kick-off on 5 November 2026 at 20:00. Both clubs have played three matches in the competition, and both will be keen to improve their position in the standings.

Hapoel Beer Sheva are 30th in the UEFA Europa League table with 1 point from 3 matches. They are yet to win, with 1 draw and 2 defeats so far. Goals have been hard to come by: they have scored 1 and conceded 6.

OFI Crete are 26th with 3 points from their 3 matches. Their record shows 1 win, 0 draws and 2 defeats, with 3 goals scored and 4 conceded. That leaves the visitors two points ahead of their hosts going into this meeting.

Recent form

Hapoel Beer Sheva come into the match on the back of a 0-4 defeat away to Union Saint-Gilloise. Before that, they lost 1-2 away to AZ Alkmaar, and before that they drew 0-0 at home against Dinamo Zagreb. Earlier still, they were beaten 2-5 away by Sabah, having won 2-1 at home against the same opponents before that. Their last 5 matches therefore produced 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats.

OFI Crete's most recent outing ended in a 0-2 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. Before that, they lost 1-2 away to Rennes. Prior to those two results they won 2-0 at home against Hoffenheim, and before that they won 2-0 away to CSKA Sofia, with a 3-0 home win over CSKA Sofia coming before that. Their last 5 matches read 3 wins, 0 draws and 2 defeats.

Home and away records

Hapoel Beer Sheva have played 1 home match in the UEFA Europa League this season. It finished goalless, so their home record in the competition stands at 0 wins, 1 draw and 0 defeats, with 0 goals scored and 0 conceded.

OFI Crete have played 2 away matches in the UEFA Europa League this season, winning 1 and losing 1. They have scored 3 goals and conceded 2 away from home in the competition.

How the two sides tend to play

The numbers point to a Hapoel Beer Sheva side that has struggled at the back. In their last 5 matches they scored in 3 but kept only 1 clean sheet, and both teams found the net in 3 of those games. Their defeats away to Union Saint-Gilloise and Sabah saw them concede 4 and 5 goals respectively. Their only shut-out in that run came in the goalless home draw with Dinamo Zagreb.

OFI Crete's recent figures suggest a sturdier defensive unit. They scored in 4 of their last 5 matches and kept 3 clean sheets, with both teams scoring in just 1 of those games. All three of their wins in that sequence came without conceding, by scorelines of 2-0, 2-0 and 3-0. Their two defeats, against Bayer Leverkusen and Rennes, were both by a single-goal or two-goal margin.

In the UEFA Europa League table, however, the gap between the sides in attack is narrow: Hapoel Beer Sheva have scored 1 goal in the competition and OFI Crete 3. The bigger difference lies in goals conceded, where Hapoel Beer Sheva have let in 6 against 4 for OFI Crete.

Estimated win chances

Estimated win chances computed by goal888 from market data, with the margin removed, are: Hapoel Beer Sheva 46%, draw 26%, OFI Crete 28%. These are estimates derived from market data, not a prediction of the outcome.

Those figures place the hosts ahead on paper, even though OFI Crete hold the better position in the table and the stronger record across their last 5 matches. With both sides having lost their two most recent outings, each will see this match as an opportunity to change the direction of their campaign.

Calculated from market prices, not a prediction or betting advice.