Chennaiyin FC will hope to get back to winning ways when they take on arch-rivals Bengaluru FC in the 16th match of Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21 at the GMC Stadium, Goa on Friday. (More Football News)
After a brilliant start to the season, trouncing Jamshedpur FC, Csaba Laszlo's men endured a frustrating draw against Kerala Blasters where they were forced to split the points despite clearly being the better team. With Bengaluru struggling to develop momentum after two straight draws, Chennaiyin will fancy their chances for a win.
Previous matches between Chennaiyin and Bengaluru have always been heated affairs with the emotions between the two sets of fans usually adding to the rivalry. Laszlo may have just started his stint at Chennaiyin but the significance of the fixture is not lost on him.
"It's a special game and it's like a derby for us. We will do everything possible to win because if we can collect three points, we can stabilise our position in the table," he said. He will look to his defence to provide the platform for his attackers to grab the three points. With just one goal conceded in their two matches, the Chennaiyin defence has made their best-ever start to the Hero ISL. The likes of Eli Sabia and Enes Sipovic have looked regal at the back.
There are problems aplenty for Bengaluru coach Carles Cuadrat. His team is struggling to find the attacking impetus that they've never been short of in the previous seasons. Bengaluru have attempted just 12 shots in their two games and got only three of them on target, the least by any team in the league so far in both respects. His front-three of Sunil Chhetri, Cleiton Silva and Kristian Opseth have failed to fire so far.
Cuadrat, however, maintains that he has positives to look at. "The team has been showing a lot of consistency with very clear patterns in the way we play, in our defensive structure. I think that we had a moment in the Goa game where we suffered a little bit. That is where the other team scored. For the rest of the game, we controlled the other team's attack really well and it was the same against Hyderabad. The opposition was not creating chances in both games." he said.
"We all know that we have to improve, the way we arrive in the other box. And we are working on that," he concluded.
What happened so far: Former champions Bengaluru FC haven’t enjoyed the best of starts to the season with two draws. Chennaiyin, on the other hand, have four points from two games with a win and a draw.
Head-to-head: This will be their eighth meeting in the ISL, with both teams winning three matches each. The lone drawn match came in the last meeting.
All you need to know about the Chennaiyin FC Vs Bengaluru FC match:
Match: 16th match of ISL 2020-21 between Chennaiyin FC and Bengaluru FC.
Date: December 4 (Friday), 2020.
Time: 7:30 PM IST.
Venue: GMC Stadium in Bambolim, Goa.
TV Listing: Star Sports 1/HD, Star Sports 2/HD (English); Star Sports Hindi 1/HD, Star Sports 3, Star Gold 2 (Hindi), Asianet Plus, Asianet Movies (Malayalam); Star Sports Bangla; Star Sports Kannada; Star Sports Tamil; Star Sports Telugu and Star Sports Marathi.
Live Streaming: Online streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar VIP and JioTV.
All ISL 2020-21 matches will be shown live and can be streamed live in 82 territories across the world. Check world wide coverage details HERE.
Likely XIs
Chennaiyin FC: Vishal Kaith; Reagan Keisham, Eli Sabia, Enes Sipovic, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Anirudh Thapa, Deepak Tangri, Rafael Crivellaro, Lallianzuala Chhangte; Esmael Goncalves, Jakub Sylvestr.
Bengaluru FC: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Harmanjot Khabra, Erik Paartalu, Juanan; Udanta Kumam, Dimas Delgado, Suresh Wangjam, Ashique Kuruniyan; Cleiton Silva, Kristian Opseth, Sunil Chhetri.
Squads
Chennaiyin FC: Goalkeepers - Karanjit Singh, Vishal Kaith, Revanth BY, Samik Mitra; Defenders - Eli Sabia, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Enes Sipovic, Lalchhuanmawia Fanai, Reagan Keisham, Deepak Tangri, Aqib Nawab, Remi Aimol, Ganesan Balaji; Midfielders - Anirudh Thapa, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Rafael Crivellaro, Memo Moura, Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev, Edwin Vanspaul, Thoi Khangebam, Dhanpal Ganesh, Germanpreet Singh, Abhijit Sarkar, Srinivasan Pandiyan, Aman Chetri; Forwards - Esmael Goncalves, Jakub Sylvestr, Rahim Ali.
Head coach - Csaba Laszlo (Romanian–Hungarian)
Bengaluru FC: Goalkeepers - Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lalthummawia Ralte, Lara Sharma; Defenders - Ajith Kumar, Diswa Darjee, Francisco Gonzalez, Joe Zoherliana, Juanan, Namgyal Bhutia, Parag Srivas, Pratik Chaudhari, Rahul Bheke, Wungngayam Muirang; Midfielders - Ajay Chhetri, Amay Morajkar, Cleiton Silva, Dimas Delgado, Emanuel Lalchhanchhuaha, Erik Paartalu, Harmanjot Khabra, Suresh Wangjam, Thoi Khangebam; Forwards - Deshorn Brown, Edmund Lalrindika, Kristian Opseth, Leon Augustin, Ashique Kuruniyan, Mahesh Naorem, Sunil Chhetri, Semboi Haokip.
Head coach - Carles Cuadrat (Spain)
