In the seventh edition of the Hero Indian Super League, the home side Odisha FC takes on Bengaluru FC tonight at 7:30 PM in GMC Stadium, Bambolim.
Analysing the stats, the Kalinga Warriors are undergoing a tough time with just 1 point in their bag over the last 5 matches. Coach Stuart Baxter is also not very much content about the performance of his boys. Manuel Onwu and Diego Mauricio are yet to find a momentum a goal-scoring momentum in the game and that’s what concerns the coach and the fans alike.
Looking onto Bengaluru FC, the blues had a sloppy start at the beginning of the league but they’re back on road with a splendid 4-2 win against Kerala Blasters FC. Coach Carles Cuadrat will surely be looking forward to keeping up the momentum as they have the chance to jump to the 2nd position if they win today.
Three Indian Players to watch out for:-
Performance from Sunil Chhetri, Ashique Kuruniyan & Jerry Mawihmingthanga will be instrumental in today’s game for their respective teams. Sunil Chhetri regained form against Kerala Blasters FC where he scored a goal after a set of faded performance in the first three matches.
Ashique Kuruniyan’s presence will be vital for the blues today as he holds the responsibility for both the attack and defence. He recorded a sprint of 36.5km/hr through the wings against Kerala Blasters and we can expect the same against Odisha FC tonight.
On the other side, Jerry must rise to his full potential tonight as most of the attack and counter’s through the flanks depends on him. Surely, making him a man to watch out for tonight
Three Foreign players to watch out for:-
The three men to look out for from both the sides are Cleiton Silva, Dimas Delgado and Diego Mauricio. Cleiton Silva, the new face at the Blue’s camp and he’ll play as the target man and we could expect some goals from his boots. With a decent set of performances in the last two matches, it’s evident that he’s gaining sync with his playmates and could come out deadly in the opposition box tonight.
Dimas Delgado remains the instrumental element in Bengaluru’s midfield and his presence will be very much valued today. Odisha FC’s Brazilian striker Diego is yet to prove his worth in Indian Super League and scored 2 goals from his last 5 outings. His goal poaching ability will play a pivotal part in Odisha FC’s to secure their first win in the current season.
Injuries
Bengaluru FC’s full-back Rahul Bheke is most likely to return back to the eleven. If he fulfils the criteria for match fitness, then Pratik Chaudhary is most likely to get benched tonight. Marcelinho is also most likely to get benched today subjected to a shoulder injury.
Predicted line-up
Odisha FC
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Arshdeep Singh (GK), Hendry Antonay, Gaurav Bora, Shubham Sarangi, Jacob Tratt, Steven Taylor (C), Cole Alexander, Vinit Rai, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Diego Mauricio, Manuel Onwu.
Bengaluru FC
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Rahul Bheke, Juanan, Erik Paartalu, Harmanjot Khabra, Ashique Kuruniyan, Dimas Delgado, Cleiton Silva, Suresh Wangjam, Kristian Opseth, Sunil Chhetri(C).
OFC vs BFC
head-to-head & Expected result
The Kalinga warriors faced the blues only on two occasions since their inception and both the times the win favoured the blues.
4th December 2019:
OFC 0-1 BFC
22nd January 2020:
BFC 3-0 OFC
Analysing the current set of performances from both the sides, we could expect a 2-1 victory for Bengaluru FC.
Follow IFTWC for all the latest updates on Indian Football and download our from playstore.