Crack the popcorn out and get ready for this one. Two neighbours from the eastern coast of the subcontinent will clash on the 15th match-day of Hero Indian Super League Season 7. ATK Mohun Bagan FC have been electric so far this season while Odisha FC looked to finally have discovered some way into opponent’s goalpost during the dying minutes of their last game against Jamshedpur FC.
On the other hand, ATK Mohun Bagan were quite consistent during their first two games and what’s important is, they have come out stronger in the first ever Bengal Derby of ISL history. With a squad that too much resembles last year’s title winning ATK FC, manager Antonio Habas looks quite in form.
Hero ISL Match-day 15
Date: 3rd December 2020, Thursday
Time: 07:30 PM IST
Live telecast: Star Sports 1 and 2, Hotstar VIP, Jio TV
Commentary language: Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, English
Venue: Fatorda Stadium, Goa
Season so far:
ATK Mohun Bagan FC met Kerala Blasters on the opening fixture of the season where they were able to hold the yellow brigade 1-0 thanks to the only goal from Roy Krishna. The second time they stepped into the field, it was arch rivals SC East Bengal FC playing their first ever match in Indian top flight. ATKMB managed to turn the game into their favour with a scoreline of 2-0. Currently the Mariners stand at the 2nd position of the table with 6 points from two games.
Odisha FC under the new gaffer still hasn’t come out of the woes of last season as they have conceded two penalties in their last two games. Discipline looks like an issue for the Juggernauts as they have seen 9 bookings in just 2 matches. They went down 1-0 to Hyderabad FC in their opening game and in the 2nd game they made a late comeback against Jamshedpur FC thanks to the brace from Diego Mauricio. Currently OFC are at the 10th position in the tally with just 1 point from 2 games.
Top Players to watch out for:
ATK Mohun Bagan FC:
Roy Krishna: Who else? The Fijian talisman joined them one and a half year ago. What followed afterwards were goals and goals. Krishna has already 2 goals in his name this season. He had scored a hat-trick against the same side in February. Roy will be an absolute threat for the OFC strikers.
Arindam Bhattacharya: The former Mumbai City FC shot stopper hasn’t allowed a single goal past him this season. It would be interesting to watch the battle between boots and gloves in the ATKMB box.
Odisha FC:
Diego Mauricio: The red miners saw some late samba magic during the last game and the game was set all square. It would be a joy to watch Mauricio’s battle against the mariners’ defence.
Cole Alexander: The protea midfield maestro had a mixed performance in the last game. Keeping his reputation in mind, we can expect some excellent playmaking from the 31-year-old midfielder.
Indian youngsters to watch out for:
Who can forget the magnificent goal from Manvir Singh during the derby? He would definitely be a super-sub again for coach Habas. Sumit Rathi, though hasn’t been able to get significant playtime this season, we must not forget the fact that he was the young player of the season last time. The fans would definitely expect some footwork from him also.
On the other hand Odisha FC has a good number of Indian youngsters. Hendry Antonay has been able to leave some impact during the last game and will definitely be a treat to watch out for. We would also anticipate some good game from Subham Sarangi and Samuel Lalmuanpuia.
Team News:
ATK Mohun Bagan FC: The Green and Maroon don’t have any serious injury concerns and also they are very consistent right now. So Habas might go with the same line up from the last game.
Odisha FC: Manuel Onwu and Marcelinho’s form can be a headache for Stuart Baxter. After a convincing performance Diego Mauricio might start ahead of Onwu this time. Vinit Rai and Jerry are fit and they were seen training with the team. So there stands a fair chance of them returning to the XI. Jacob Tratt’s blow from last game won’t bother the gaffer much and he is expected to start. Arshdeep Singh can start in the goal as Kamaljit didn’t impress much last time.
Head to head:
Odisha FC and ATK had faced each other twice during the last season. The first face off went all square while the second one went 3-1 in favour of ATK FC. Odisha FC after shifting to Bhubaneswar are yet to win a game against the Kolkata giants.
Probable XI
ATK Mohun Bagan FC: Arindam (GK), Pritam Kotal, Tiri, Jhingan, Prabir, Jayesh, McHugh, Bose, Hernandez, Williams, Roy Krishna
Substitutes: Pranoy, Manvir, Glan, Rathi, Inman, Boris, Sahil, Dheeraj
Odisha FC: Arshdeep (GK), Hendry, Tratt, Taylor, Shubham, Vinit, Cole, Nandha, Marcelinho, Jerry, Mauricio
Substitutes: Onwu, Daniel, Samuel, Premjit, Bora, Sajid, Kamalpreet, Kamaljit
Predictions:
Looking at the sharpness of the midfield beating ATKMB will not be a hot knife through butter for the Bhubaneswar based side. Still Baxter’s men will look forward towards their first ever win while ATKMB will aim towards reclaiming the top spot of the table.
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