FC Goa will look to erase the blemishes of the defeat to Mumbai City as they take on Jamshedpur FC today at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim. The Gaurs were outplayed by the Champions in the opener by a scoreline of 3-0.
The Men of Steel, on the other hand, will try to find the right combination after an uninspired 1-1 draw vs SC East Bengal. Owen Coyle has a bunch of exciting attacking options to pick from and will look to trouble the Goan defense which looked shaky.
Team News
Exciting prospect Muhammed Nemil still recovers while Brandon Fernandes and Redeem Tlang are ruled out due to injury. Everyone else is available for selection.
Owen Coyle will go into the game with a full-strength squad.
3 Indians to watch out for
Ishan Pandita
Ishan Pandita left FC Goa for Jamshedpur FC in a blockbuster deal in the summer. In multiple interviews, the 23-year-old has stated that he joined the Red Miners to get more opportunities and regular playing time. The striker scored 4 goals for the Gaur last season, coming off the bench in all games. After playing just the second half against SC East Bengal, Pandita will try to remind Goa of the talent that they have lost.
Narender Gahlot
Narender Gahlot is an interesting choice as he did not start the game against the Red and Gold army. However, with a poor performance by JFC in the attacking third, Coyle might opt for Jordan Murray or Greg Stewart to operate beside or behind Valskis by dropping Eli Sabia to the bench. This will see Gahlot playing in defense beside skipper Peter Hartley against an FC Goa attack that looked toothless against Mumbai.
Lalhmangaihsanga ‘Papuia’ Ralte
Papuia had a forgettable game against Mumbai City FC. The 21-year-old often proved to be the weak link in the Gaur defense and was exploited expertly by the likes of Igor Angulo and Raynier Fernandes. Papuia played a lot of the games in the Durand Cup and Juan Ferrando has shown his faith in the youngster to helm the defense beside Ivan Gonzalez.
3 Foreigners to watch out for
Greg Stewart
The versatile winger from Scotland played just 14 minutes in the game against East Bengal and often looked rusty and slow. However, he comes with an incredible profile, joining the Furnace from Rangers FC, one of the most successful clubs in Scottish Football. He will need to justify his worth on the pitch and could find himself in the starting eleven against Goa.
Jorge Ortiz
Jorge Ortiz brought much needed sharpness to the FC Goa attack after he came on in the 60th minute. He got a crisp chance to pull one back late into the game, but flashed his shot wide of the far post. However, with Airam Cabrera putting in a poor performance, we might see Ortiz start ahead of his fellow Spaniard.
Edu Bedia
The inspirational captain of the Gaurs was often found to be frustrated and a lone figure on the pitch in the opener. His generally surgically accurate long balls didn’t seem to find the man and his long range efforts were poor. Known for controlling the pace of the game, Edu will look to do exactly that against Jamshedpur whose midfield often looked thin and easy to exploit against SC East Bengal.
Predicted Line-up
Jamshedpur FC
FC Goa
Head to head records
FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC have played each other on 9 occasions in all competitions. The Gaurs have won 6 of the encounters whereas the Men of Steel have won 2. Two games ended in stalemate. The last time both the teams played each other was in the Durand Cup in September 2021. Goa marked a clinical 5-0 victory over JFC’s youngsters.
Predicted Result
Both teams need to make a big statement to forget their starting hiccup and get back among the points. The loss to Mumbai was a hard one for the Gaurs as they lacked overall quality and will look to the leaders in the dressing room to showcase their experience. Jamshedpur, on the other hand, will add more firepower to the starting lineup as they will want to use the riches they have in the attacking third. Jamshedpur FC might edge this one over Goa who are still licking their wounds.
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