SC East Bengal are still on the lookout for their first win of the Indian Super League season as they face Chennaiyin FC at the Tilak Maidan on Saturday. (More Football News)
After six games, the red and golds have zero wins, have scored the least (3) and conceded the joint-most (11). Both their goals were scored by Jacques Maghoma against Hyderabad FC.
However, there is a story that the numbers don't tell. Their last couple of games have seen them put in improved performances. They were unlucky not to get a point against Hyderabad and all three after dominating Kerala Blasters in their last game.
Against Kerala, they split points due to a late equalizer and coach Robbie Fowlers insisted that his players had put that disappointment past them.
Fowler said that his players weren't short on motivation and hoped that all that improvement would lead to results.
Chennaiyin too are in a sticky situation and share a lot of the same problems that plague SCEB. They have scored just five goals in the league so far, with only their opponents on Saturday scoring less. Only two of those goals have come from open play.
However, they are coming off a morale-boosting victory over FC Goa and their coach Csaba Laszlo knows that their next few games will decide which way the momentum shifts.
All you need to know about the SC East Bengal FC Vs Chennaiyin FC match:
Match: 39th match of ISL 2020-21 between SC East Bengal FC Vs Chennaiyin FC
Date: December 26 (Saturday), 2020.
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Tilak Maidan, Vasco, Goa
Head-to-Head: This is the first time that the two sides will lock horns in ISL.
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 worldwide coverage details HERE.
Likely starting XIs:
SC East Bengal: Debjit Majumder (GK); Scott Neville, Sehnaj Singh, Mohammed Irshad; Mohammed Rafique, Wahengbam Angousana, Matti Steinman, Narayan Das; Jacques Maghoma, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Anthony Pilkington.
Chennaiyin FC: Vishal Kaith (GK); Reagan Keisham, Eli Sabia, Enes Sipovic, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Anirudh Thapa, Deepak Tangri, Rafael Crivellaro, Lallianzuala Chhangte; Esmael Goncalves, Jakub Sylvestr.
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)
SC East Bengal: Goalkeepers - Debjit Majumder, Rafique Ali, Mirshad Michu, Sankar Roy; Defenders - Daniel Fox, Scott Neville, Gurtej Singh, Narayan Das, Lalramchullova, Abhishek Ambekar, Rana Gharami, Samad Mallick, Mohamed Irshad, Ningthoukhongjam Rohen, Anil Chawan, Novin Gurung, Pritam Soraisam; Midfielders - Aaron Hammadi-Holloway, Anthony Pilkington, Matti Steinman, Jacques Maghoma, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Bikash Jairu, Sehnaj Singh, Surchandra Chandam, Moirangthem Loken Meitei, Haobam Tomba, Milan Oinam, Wahengbam Luwang, Mohamed Rafique, Yumnam Gopi; Forwards - Jeje Lalpekhlua, Balwant Singh, CK Vineeth, Girik Khosla, Harmanpreet Singh.
Head coach -Robbie Fowler (England)
