Lugano – Maccabi Tel Aviv Preview – Can Lugano punish a wounded Maccabi?
Maccabi Tel Aviv spent the summer chasing a place in this season’s Europa League and fell agonisingly short. They won the second leg against CSKA Sofia three goals to one and still went out on aggregate, beaten four goals to three across the tie, and that defeat drops them into the Conference League playoff round instead. Lugano, by contrast, needed two legs to see off NSÍ Runavík and arrive here with a lighter continental résumé but home advantage for this first leg. Anyone weighing up Lugano vs Maccabi Tel Aviv betting tips this week is really asking one question: can a wounded side regroup inside a week, or do the Swiss make the most of catching them on the rebound?
Kickoff at the Cornaredo is set for 20 August 2026 at 18:30 GMT, with the return leg following on 27 August. Whoever survives the tie moves into the Conference League league phase; the loser’s European season ends here and now. On paper this one sits close to even, more a genuine coin toss than a mismatch. Maccabi carry the bigger continental pedigree into the week, but Lugano have the cleaner route to this round and none of the scars of a play-off exit to shake off.
That exit to CSKA Sofia should worry Lugano more than it comforts them. Maccabi still found three goals in the second leg alone, the kind of scoreline that shows a team can keep hurting opponents even once a tie is slipping away. If you caught our look at that stunning second-leg comeback that still fell short, you will know Maccabi’s front line did almost everything right and it was still not enough. That kind of attacking output does not just switch off in eight days, and neither does a defence that shipped four goals across two legs.
Lugano’s passage was calmer, if not flawless. They saw off NSÍ Runavík over two legs, a tie covered in our preview of that second leg, and they arrive at this first leg already up and running for the season, with the Swiss Super League campaign under way domestically too. Two legs against Runavík were not the toughest test Lugano will face in Europe this year, but they are already sharp while Maccabi are still absorbing a result that stung.
Lugano – Maccabi Tel Aviv Betting Tips
Betting Tip: Over 2.5 goals
Both sides have shown they can be got at. Maccabi shipped four goals across two legs against CSKA Sofia despite scoring three of their own, and Lugano’s route past Runavík produced goals at both ends too. Over 2.5 goals fits a first leg between two teams that keep finding the net rather than shutting up shop, especially with both defences carrying question marks into a game neither can afford to sit back in.
Betting Tip: Both teams to score
Following on from that, both teams to score looks like the tidier way to back the same read. Maccabi have an attack sharp enough to hurt a Lugano side that has already shown it can be opened up, and Lugano have scored and conceded in both legs of their own qualifying tie. Neither back four arrives with a clean sheet in recent memory, and a nervy first leg with something to prove on both sides rarely stays goalless for long.
Betting Tip: Double chance Lugano or draw
The safer route to the result itself is double chance: Lugano or draw. Hosting the first leg after getting past Runavík gives Lugano the platform to control this tie without needing to win it outright, and a draw or a narrow home win both leave them well placed for the second leg. Check the football betting odds before kickoff, because a two-legged European tie like this can move once team news lands.
One leg down, one shot at the league phase
Whatever happens at the Cornaredo, this tie is not finished until the second leg on 27 August. Maccabi have already shown they can score three in a match that matters, so Lugano need more than a slim aggregate lead to feel safe. That is exactly why double chance Lugano or draw is the pick to build the coupon around, with the goals markets sitting alongside it to catch a first leg that looks unlikely to stay level for long.
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