Saints have been warned that everything Hapoel Be’er Sheva manager Barak Bakhar touches “turns to gold” ahead of their final day Group K shootout.

Be’er Sheva were considered the minnows of the group at the start of the Europa League campaign, but arrive at St Mary’s knowing a score draw or a win will take them through to the knockout stages.

There is no doubt they will be the underdogs, but Saints fans shouldn’t get too complacent according to Israeli journalist Dani Porat.

He said: “In Israel we have a lot of respect for English clubs and most of the people here think that Southampton will go through, but at the same time there’s real belief in that Hapoel team.

“Beer Sheva are a very aggressive team and mentally strong you can see that in the games against Inter and Celtic (the home game).

“For us Beer Sheva is a real European club. Their coach Barak Bakhar is promising and exciting young manager.

“He can play with three at the back or maybe four.

“He can rest his stars at the bench and still win most games.

“Everything he touches turn to gold with this term.

“Beer Sheva have depth in their squad and can pick versatile line-ups. Barak knows how to control his players and the players have a lot of respect for him.

“For example, Elianiv Barda was the captain and the star of last season but this year he is injured since August. Also creative midfielder Maor Melikson is out for a long time but the club still gets the results.

“They have three players who are in really good shape: former Chelsea player – Ben Sahar, Toni Nwakame from Nigeria (the best foreign player in Israel) and Maor Buzaglo.

“Beer Sheva also brought this summer Miguel Vitor and he’s by far the best central defender in Israel - the team only conceded five goals in 12 matches.”

Saints played out a goalless draw in Israel but face a Hapoel side in fine form, and who will be backed by 1,500 noisy traveling fans.

“Beer Sheva is doing fine, actually great,” reported Porat. “They are at their prime and won the last eight league games.

“European Competition is very important for Beer Sheva.

“Until this year, they didn’t have much success in Europe and were trashed out very early season after season.

“This year they have a wonderful campaign and they believe that they can qualify.”

Probable line-up: Goresh, B. Biton, Tzedek, Vitor, Korhut – Ogu, Hoban, Radi – Buzaglo, Nwakeme, Sahar.