Odisha FC clash against FC Goa tonight at GMC Bambolim Stadium in search of their first win of the ISL season 2020-21.
Being played 4 matches till now, Odisha FC was unsuccessful to record a win and they lie at bottom of the table with 3 lost and 1 match drawn. The team has been struggling at both ends of the pitch so far. They failed to even score in three out of four matches while conceded six goals so far. Stuart Baxter’s side has to improve across all departments on the field ensuring that they come back and march their way to the top 4.
On the other hand, FC Goa been a team with a great mixture of Indians and foreigners. In the last match against Kerala Blasters FC, they recorded their first win. They stand 7th in the table with 5 points. In a pre-match press conference, Juan Ferrando has expressed saying, the team has performed consistently and improving a lot game by game.
3 INDIAN PLAYERS TO LOOK OUT FOR
Shubham Sarangi, Brandon Fernandes, and Alexander Jesuraj are the Indian players to look out for.
Shubham Sarangi has been good at the back of Odisha FC to stop the opponent’s wingers from chipping and putting crosses into the box. Brandon Fernandes is the key player of FC Goa, playing a pivot role in attacking midfield, where he has impressed all with his creative passing skills and accuracy. The defensive-midfielder Lenny Rodrigues has been the trouble to the opponent with his powerful shots while also seen defending, dropping down deep between two central defenders when needed.
3 FOREIGN PLAYERS TO LOOK OUT FOR
Diego Mauricio and Steven Taylor will be two foreign players to look out for from Odisha FC’s camp. Mauricio has been spectacular in scoring goals and will surely continue his efforts to score more goals. Taylor will have the responsibility to lead the team and keep the first clean sheet of the season if possible. Igor Angulo is the name of FC Goa, who caused a lot of trouble to opponents by his pacy runs behind the defence and score goals. He is the joint top goal scorer of the league as of now with 5 goals in 4 matches.
TEAM NEWS
Odisha FC – Goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh will miss out game as he suffered a severe concussion during a game against Mumbai City FC. The doubt over the inclusion of Marcelinho in the squad remains as he has suffered a shoulder injury at the start of the season, but still, he started in some matches.
FC Goa – No injury concerns have been reported from Gaurs camp. Juan Ferrando will have the whole squad for selection but it looks like, the starting 11 will be the same as the last match.
HEAD TO HEAD
In two encounters with Odisha FC till now, FC Goa kept the record of winning both the match with a good goal margin.
Also Read – “Every match is like a final for FC Goa”, says Juan Ferrando
PROBABLE XI
ODISHA FC – Formation (4-2-3-1)
Arshdeep Singh (GK), Hendry Antonay (LB), Jacob Tratt (CB), Steven Taylor (CB), Shubham Sarangi (RB), Gaurav Bora (LDM), Cole Alexander (RDM), Nanda Kumar (LW), Marcelino (CAM), Premjit Singh (RW), Diego Mauricio (ST)
FC GOA – Formation (4-2-3-1)
Mohammad Nawaz (GK), Saviour Gama (LB), James Donachie (CB), Ivan Gonzalez (CB), Seriton Fernandes (RB), Lenny Rodrigues (LDM), Edu Bedia (RDM), Brandon Fernandes (LW), Alexander Jesuraj (CAM), Jorge Ortiz (RW), Igor Angulo (ST)
PREDICTIONS
Profiling both the teams, it looks like FC Goa has upper hand this season while Odisha FC are the dark horse. The match will be highly entertaining where fans can expect the match full of super moments. We predict FC Goa will grab 3 points keeping the clean sheet.
Follow IFTWC for all the latest updates on Indian Football and download our from playstore.