Hapoel Beer Sheva vs Vikingur Reykjavik Prediction 29 July 2026
🔊 Hapoel Beer-Sheva and Vikingur meet in the second leg of the second qualifying round of the Champions League, with a guaranteed European spot on the line. The winner, even if eliminated in the next round, will drop into the Conference League group stage. Things are complicated for the nominal home side - the match is being played in Hungary for security reasons. The question is whether the Icelanders can hold onto their narrow first-leg advantage.
Head-to-Head
📊 The only previous meeting between the two sides took place in Reykjavik - Víkingur won it 2-1.
Head-to-head statistics Hapoel Beer Sheva - Vikingur Reykjavik
Hapoel Beer Sheva Team Overview
Hapoel come into this match on a three-game losing run. The Israelis have played just two official matches this summer - and lost both. First they dropped the domestic Super Cup to Maccabi Tel Aviv (1-3), then lost away to Vikingur in the Champions League qualifying. The only win of the pre-season came against Polish side Radomiak Radom in a friendly (3-2).
That said, Hapoel weren't exactly outclassed in the first leg against Vikingur. Possession was fairly even - 47% to 53% - but going forward they struggled: the Icelanders had more than twice as many shots (15 to 7). Still, the home side only managed to grind out a narrow lead on the 86th minute, despite both teams trading goals early in the second half.
Match Results: Hapoel Beer Sheva
Vikingur Reykjavik Team Overview
Unlike Hapoel, Vikingur have had regular competitive football this summer. Iceland's league runs on a spring-autumn calendar, and the Reykjavik side are handling both competitions well - they lead the table by eight points, and last round they put five past Keflavik, who sit in the top six.
What makes that result more notable is that Vikingur didn't even play their first-choice XI. The manager is rotating to keep key players fresh ahead of the Champions League qualifiers. Even so, the depleted side more than doubled Keflavik's shot count - 22 to 9 - and held the ball for 59% of the match.
Match Results: Vikingur Reykjavik
Latest news
Hapoel Beer Sheva
❌ The main injury concern is summer signing Joao Victor. The Brazilian forward is out until at least August. The game in Reykjavik brought more problems too - Miguel Vitor and Igor Zlatanovic both went off early.
Vikingur Reykjavik
❌ The main injury concern for Vikingur is 36-year-old goalkeeper Ingvar Jonsson, though he's been out since May. There are also questions over Robert-Orri Thorkelsson, who had to come off in a recent Iceland Cup match. The 24-year-old defender wasn't a guaranteed starter anyway.
🟨 Yellow Cards Prediction
The first match produced three bookings in total, two of which went to the visitors from Hapoel. Iceland showed solid defensive organisation despite the possession being fairly even. In the return leg, the Israelis need to chase the game, which means they'll take more risks - including in the tackle. We expect the Hapoel Beer-Sheva yellow cards win to land again.
⚽️ Goals Prediction
Hapoel have considerably more European experience, whichever way you look at it. Even with a depleted squad, they're capable of playing on the front foot - and their possession numbers in Reykjavik backed that up to some extent. But the defensive problems aren't going away. In five straight matches, the Israelis have been involved in goal exchanges on both ends. We expect Both Teams To Score - Yes in this one too. That market is available at 1.65*.
🚩 Corners Prediction
Vikingur are tactically varied - in just their last five matches, the Icelanders have used three different formations, from 4-3-3 to a classic 4-4-2. In the first leg, they mirrored Hapoel's shape and it paid off: not just in the result, but in how effectively they shut down the visitors' wide channels. The corners stat tells the story - 7:1 in favour of the Reykjavik side.
The home side are very active out wide and consistently generate chances through wide play and set pieces. Former Everton man Gylfi Sigurdsson is the key creative force, feeding the wingers with his distribution. With those kind of players involved, we back Vikingur total corners over 3.5. That line is available at 2.1* and has landed in 13 of the Icelanders' last 14 away matches.
*Odds are indicative and may vary across different bookmakers.
⭐ Editor's Prediction
Vikingur are in better shape - sharper form, fewer injury concerns, and a squad kept fresh through smart rotation between league and Champions League qualifying. In the first leg against Hapoel, Nikolaj Hansen scored twice and was then given extra rest - a clear sign of how the manager is managing his squad's legs. The Icelanders have scored in 26 of their last 27 matches, including 13 of their last 14 away from home. No reason to think this one will be any different - Vikingur to score. A 1-1 draw feels like a fair result: Hapoel are away from home, which makes it harder to back them to go through.
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Betting Tips: Hapoel Beer Sheva - Vikingur Reykjavik
in 25 of last 27 games.
in last 5 Hapoel Beer Sheva games.in 8 of last 9 Vikingur Reykjavik games.
in last 7 Antoni Bandic games.in 26 of last 27 games.in 26 of last 27 games.
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