Maccabi hopes for first goal in group stage

JERUSALEM (AP) Maccabi Haifa will be searching for its first point - and first goal - of the Champions League group stage when it plays Juventus in Ramat Gan on Tuesday.

Maccabi has won eight out of eight matches in the Israeli Premier League this season but has found the going much harder on the European stage, losing its first three games in Group A, including a 1-0 defeat at Juventus two weeks ago.

Juventus is aiming to rebound from a painful home defeat in the Italian league over the weekend when it allowed Napoli to recover from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2.

"Our aim is to win the game," Maccabi coach Elisha Levy said on Monday. "We are not turning up just to put on a respectable performance. We also have ambitions and this time we will try and implement them on the field."

Haifa is bottom of the group and another defeat could end its already faint chances of qualifying for the knockout stage. Bordeaux leads Group A with seven points, two in front of Juventus and three ahead of Bayern Munich.

Levy will have to do without suspended midfielder Biram Kiyal, with veteran Brazilian Gustavo Boccoli expected to take his place.

The coach is considering starting with striker Shlomi Arbeitman, who has scored eight goals this season but has not been included in a Champions League starting 11.

Juventus was forced into some soul searching after the Napoli defeat which came only three days after Juventus routed Sampdoria 5-1.

"The real Juventus isn't the one seen on Saturday, it's that other team you saw against Sampdoria a few days ago," new club president Jean-Claude Blanc said.

In his first season, coach Ciro Ferrara has been unable to field a consistent lineup due to a long list of injuries. Captain Alessandro Del Piero, fellow striker Vincenzo Iaquinta and midfielders Claudio Marchisio and Mohamed Sissoko are still out.

Attacking midfielder Mauro Camoranesi is available despite requiring four stitches to close a cut above his eyebrow suffered against Napoli.

"We can't stand around and lick our wounds. We're facing a tough match in Israel. It may not be decisive but it's going to be a tricky game," said goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who is playing through pain before knee surgery scheduled at the end of the year.

Updated November 2, 2009