Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv is back in Belgrade to host ALBA Berlin in EuroLeague Round 24 on Thursday. The Israeli champions come into the game with momentum, riding a 3-game winning streak in the State Cup, EuroLeague, and the Israeli League. However, they will be without Jaylen Hoard, who is suffering from a hamstring tear.

"Since getting their injured players back, ALBA is a much better team and looks stronger even in their losses," warned coach Oded Kattash. "We'll be missing Jaylen, maybe the last player we haven’t had to play without. Everyone understands his importance to us, and I hope we won’t be without him for too long, though it doesn’t look great. It's hard to know what to expect, but we want to keep winning and looking good. We've been feeling good about our practices lately, though Jaylen’s injury has disrupted us a bit."

Maccabi heads into the matchup with a record of six wins and 17 losses, while their opponent is struggling even more, sitting at the bottom of the standings with only three wins this EuroLeague season. The German side has beaten ASVEL, Milan, and Bologna but averages only 79.7 points per game while conceding over 92.

The last matchup between the teams, in the German capital, ended with a 103-85 win for Maccabi, with Rokas Jokubaitis scoring 24 points. Maccabi has won 19 of the last 21 meetings, including all of the last six. Additionally, in the past five encounters, the yellows has won by at least 13 points.