Maccabi Tel Aviv — Dynamo Kyiv : Match Preview and Prediction for August 21,2025

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Challenging Season Start

The start of the season can certainly not be called a successful one for Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Early Domestic Disappointment

In their first official match, the Israeli side surprisingly lost to the modest Hapoel Be’er Sheva (1-2) in the Israeli Super Cup, despite playing with a numerical advantage from the 17th minute.

Champions League Qualification Woes

It seemed as though this was just a stroke of bad luck and everything would be rectified in the Champions League qualification rounds. However, disappointment also awaited Zarco Lazetić’s team here. In the second round, they were drawn against Cypriot side Paphos, who seemed to be of comparable strength, or perhaps even slightly weaker. In the first leg, Maccabi managed to secure a crucial away draw, scoring in the 100th minute for a 1-1 finish. It was thought that in Serbia (Maccabi, like Dynamo, plays on neutral ground), the Israeli squad would see the job through. But everything immediately went awry. Their primary goalkeeper sustained an injury during the warm-up before the match. And the reserve goalkeeper, as amusing as it sounds, was sent off early in the game. As a result, the Cypriots capitalized on their numerical superiority and scored the sole winning goal — 0-1. Shifting to the Europa League, Maccabi then faced Hamrun, who had been eliminated by Dynamo Kyiv. The Maltese team had every chance to win the first encounter, leading 1-0. However, the Israelis managed to score twice in the last 20 minutes to snatch a 2-1 victory. In the return leg, Lazetić’s squad played with confidence and comfortably won 3-1.

National Cup Progression

Just a couple of days later, the hosts competed in the national cup, where they convincingly defeated Hapoel Jerusalem (2-1).

Squad Status for Maccabi

No significant changes have occurred in the Israeli squad. There was only one notable signing, Ion Nicolaescu from Heerenveen. Lazetić faces no selection problems for his starting eleven, as all players are available.

Dynamo Kyiv’s Lofty Ambitions and Reality Check

Immense hopes were pinned on Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League qualifiers, as the “Kyivites” had not reached the group stage for exactly ten years. However, as it turned out, these expectations will have to be deferred for at least another year.

Unexpected European Exit

The Kyiv team predictably overcame Hamrun easily in the second stage, securing two comfortable 3-0 victories. In the third round, they were up against the aforementioned Paphos. Nearly everyone predicted an effortless progression for Oleksandr Shovkovskyi’s team. Yet, the outcome was quite the opposite. First, the Cypriots managed to convert one of their two opportunities in the initial encounter, clinching a victory in the final ten minutes. Dynamo had two dangerous moments, but only one shot on target and a defeat invited criticism, which was well-founded. Everything came down to the second leg, where Paphos opened the scoring in the second minute after a mistake by Neshcheret and Popov. They then took control of possession and prevented the “White-Blues” from creating anything substantial. In the second half, the situation became clear after the hosts scored their second goal. Another year without the main Champions League stage for the Ukrainian powerhouse.

Strong Domestic Form

However, in the Ukrainian Premier League (UPL), Dynamo’s performance is on track. While they managed only a narrow 1-0 away victory over Veres in the first round, they secured easy wins in the subsequent two matches against Rukh (5-1) and Epicenter (4-1). Eduardo Guerreiro proved to be particularly impactful, contributing a goal and an assist in those two fixtures.

Dynamo’s Injury Report

Oleksandr Shovkovskyi has no significant injury concerns, with only Rubchynskyi continuing his recovery.