Hapoel Be'er Sheva will host Dinamo Zagreb at the Superbet Arena-Giulesti on Wednesday night for their first match in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage. In their last game, Hapoel Be'er Sheva secured a solid 2-0 victory against Hapoel Petah Tikva, while Dinamo Zagreb suffered a 4-2 loss to Osijek at the Opus Arena. After winning the Ligat ha’Al title for the first time in eight years last season, finishing just three points ahead of Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Be'er Sheva participated in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers for only the fourth time in their history this summer. They advanced past Iceland's Vikingur Reykjavik in the quarterfinals and achieved a remarkable 3-0 aggregate win over Red Star, reaching the final qualification round. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in extra time by Sabah Baku, who were making their tournament debut, resulting in their shift to the Europa League. Despite the disappointment of narrowly missing out on their first Champions League appearance, Hapoel Be'er Sheva is competing in Europe’s second tier for the fourth time and will aim to surpass their best performance, which ended in a Round of 32 exit in the 2016-17 season. However, after a shaky start to their current league season, winning only two of their first four matches, the Camels will need to significantly improve in their Europa League opener against Dinamo Zagreb, a team they have yet to defeat. Dinamo Zagreb, after finishing as runners-up based on head-to-head results with Rijeka in the 2024-25 HNL season, bounced back last year by securing their eighth league title in nine years, which allowed them to return to the Champions League qualifiers.