The yellows are without South Sudanese center Wenyen Gabriel, who is dealing with a knee injury. To make up for his absence, Maccabi acted swiftly to add Guinean-French center Alpha Kaba on a short-term contract, and he is likely to make his Maccabi debut against a team he played for between 2017 and 2019.

The french rivals have one of the oldest rosters in the competition, but it boasts a few capable names such as EuroLeague legend Nando De Colo, former NBA big man Joffrey Lauvergne and last year leader in steals, guard Paris Lee. They also brought back guard Theo Maledon and added former Maccabi big man Tarik Black.
“The first games of the season always has some surprises in store - teams aren’t completely ready”, acknowledged head coach Oded Kattash. “We need to acclimate to Belgrade again. Playing without our fans, who are our main strength, makes for a big factor against us. There is no easy game in the EuroLeague, and this game is no different”.