Friday , March 29 2024

Chennaiyin FC host FC Goa in their opener as an ISL 2015 final rematch!

Indian Super League (ISL) 2015 champions Chennaiyin FC renew hostilities with the finalists of the same year, FC Goa in the third match of the season at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. The home team’s consistency record took a beating last season as a string of poor results saw them finish seventh. Being only one of two champions in the league’s history, they would want to start off with three points. They will, however, miss the services of their talented 21-year-old midfielder Germanpreet Singh who picked up a knock while on international duty. FC Goa too, suffered a miserable season last time out as their campaign ended on a whimper with them finishing bottom-most. A win away to Chennai would be the ideal start to their new campaign.

Head to Head: Chennaiyin FC 4 – 3 FC Goa

KEY PLAYERS

Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin FC)

The Mizo Sniper has stuck with the Super Machans since the inaugural season, and is the league’s highest domestic scorer till date. What the striker lacks in pace is made up of his strength to hold off defenders and his abilities to finish clinically. Not shy of coming up with useful assists either, the 2016 AIFF Player of the Year is guaranteed to create a decent number of openings in any game.

Mandar Rao Dessai (FC Goa)

The Gaurs’ local lad has been faithful to them since the league’s inception. A left-winger by trade, Dessai is quick with his runs and precise with his passing. He is also one of the rare players to have been retained by a revamped Goa side and will know the conditions well. The away team will depend on him for initiating most of their attacks from the flanks.

POTENTIAL STARTING LINEUPS

Chennaiyin FC

The hosts would want to take the game to the opponents and in all probabilities, would be going for an attack-minded 4-3-3 formation.

Goalkeeper: Karanjit Singh

Defenders: Jerry Lalrinzuala, Mailson Alves, Henrique Sereno Fonseca, Inigo Calderon

Midfielders: Thoi Singh, Bikramjit Singh, Raphael Augusto

Forwards: Jeje Lalpekhlua, Jude Nworuh, Mohammed Rafi

Chennaiyin FC head coach John Gregory on his team structure: “We’re in pretty good shape. I’ve got twenty-five players in the squad. Unfortunately for three weeks, we lost some of our international players. Four boys were away with the national team, away for three weeks and sometimes that is disruptive to some of our plans. So we’ve not always had a full squad to pick from.”

FC Goa

The visitors would want to keep it tight, but at the same time keep up with their attacks. They have the right players to probably go for the 3-4-3 formation.

Goalkeeper: Laxmikant Kattimani

Defenders: Narayan Das, Chinglensana Singh, Sergio Juste Marin

Midfielders: Manuel Lanzarote, Brandon Fernandes, Pronay Halder, Manuel Arana Rodriguez

Forwards: Mandar Rao Dessai, Adrian Colunga, Ferran Corominas

FC Goa custodian Laxmikant Kattimani on what his team aims at: “We are not thinking about the past (season). We are focused on our next match that is against Chennaiyin FC and focused on this season and hope for a good result.”

KEY STATS:

Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa have never played out a draw against each other

The 2015 season saw the Super Machans and the Gaurs finish as champions and runners-up, but the last season saw them finish seventh and eighth, respectively
The highest number of goals in any ISL fixture occurred when these two clubs met last year in Goa, where the home team pipped their opponents in a 5-4 thriller.
The two teams had also played their very first match in the inaugural season against each other at Goa, when the Super Machans edged out the Gaurs 2-1

LAST MEETING:

FC Goa 5-4 Chennaiyin FC (1st December 2016 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa)

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