TEL AVIV (Interstat)—Hapoel Tel Aviv will host Besiktas on Wednesday at Hadar Yosef in a matchup of teams separated by one game in the standings. Hapoel Tel Aviv enters with a 3-2 record, while Besiktas is 3-4. The home team has won three of its first five games, and the visiting side has dropped four of seven. The matchup features two teams looking to improve their early-season positioning.

Hapoel Tel Aviv most recently defeated Hapoel Beer Sheva 95-82. Earlier this season, Hapoel Tel Aviv beat Real Madrid 102-98 and won at Crvena Zvezda 81-80. Its losses came at Valencia, 93-82, and against Bayern, 86-84. Hapoel Tel Aviv will look to remain strong at home, where it has already earned a high-scoring win over Real Madrid.

Besiktas is coming off an 88-63 loss at Turk Telekom. David Dejulius scored 16 points for Besiktas, while Ante Zizic had nine points, five rebounds, one assist and two blocks. Conor Morgan added 10 points and two rebounds. Dejulius led the team in scoring, while Zizic and Morgan also finished in double figures. Besiktas has also beaten Baskonia 92-84, Trabzonspor 90-81 and Maccabi Tel Aviv 109-93 this season. The team has lost to Barcelona 95-82, Anadolu Efes 95-81 and Valencia 96-94 in addition to the Turk Telekom defeat.

Ante Zizic is the player to watch for Besiktas. In his most recent game at Turk Telekom, he played 22 minutes and recorded nine points, five rebounds, one assist and two blocks. In his previous outing at Anadolu Efes, Zizic scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds in 13 minutes. His size and finishing inside could test Hapoel Tel Aviv. Zizic has been a consistent interior option for Besiktas early in the season.

Hapoel Tel Aviv has shown it can score against top competition. The team reached 102 points against Real Madrid and has wins over Crvena Zvezda and Hapoel Beer Sheva. Hapoel Tel Aviv has scored at least 95 points in three of its five games. Besiktas, meanwhile, has scored at least 90 points in three wins. The visitors will need to control pace and avoid the slow offensive start that hurt them against Turk Telekom.

Besiktas will host Bayern and Galatasaray after this game before traveling to Anadolu Efes and Bahcesehir Kol. Besiktas also will face Olympiacos, Virtus Bologna, Cayirova, Zalgiris, Pinar and ASVEL. Hapoel Tel Aviv will visit Panathinaikos before hosting Maccabi Ashdod and Virtus Bologna. Hapoel Tel Aviv’s slate includes Hapoel Jerusalem, Anadolu Efes, Dubai, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Barcelona and Ironi Eilat. Both teams have busy stretches ahead, making the Wednesday result important for early-season positioning.

Interstat’s game simulator projects Hapoel Tel Aviv to beat Besiktas 79-71.