Toto Cup fills the gap

The third round of the Toto Cup will replace the first edition of Israeli Premier League matches due to be played this weekend but postponed following the Israel Football Association's decision to renegotiate a new deal for TV rights.

September start
The decision, which could mean the domestic league starting on 14 September, has allowed most clubs to keep on strengthening their squads while using the Toto Cup games as warm-up matches.

Haifa date
The only sides unhappy with the arrangement are Israel's three representatives in Europe who would have prefered to get some competitive matches under their belts. Maccabi Haifa whose return leg in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round with SK Sturm Graz takes place in Austria on Tuesday, will play their match against Hapoel Ironi Rishon today to give them extra time to recover. Maccabi lead 2-0 in the tie.

UEFA Cup contenders
Of the two UEFA Cup contenders, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, the Toto Cup holders, host Maccabi Netanya before travelling to Albania to defend a 1-0 first-leg lead against KS Partizani in their qualifying round tie. Maccabi Tel-Aviv meet Hapoel Ramat Gan at the national stadium before jetting off to Sofia to face FC Levadia Tallinn, already 2-0 up from the first leg.