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Chennaiyin FC come up against southern rivals Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League on Friday evening at the Fatorda. Winless in four games, Chennaiyin FC come into the encounter on the back a 2-0 defeat to Hyderabad FC in the last match. Bengaluru FC on the other hand posted a 2-0 win over SC East Bengal in their previous outing, a first victory for them after eight games prior without one.
Eighth placed Chennaiyin FC (16 points) will be aiming to leapfrog their opponents Bengaluru FC (18 points) who are in sixth place currently. Looking to avenge the narrow 0-1 defeat in the reverse fixture against Sunil Chhetri and company, Csaba Laszlo’s Chennaiyin FC squad will be boosted by some key additions.
The Marina Machans’ gaffer confirmed in his pre-match press conference that new signing Manuel Lanzarote will be available for selection against Naushad Moosa’s side. And in more welcome news, central defender Enes Sipovic will return after suspension, while Anirudh Thapa will also be in contention after making a ‘100% recovery’ from injury, in Laszlo’s words.
For Bengaluru FC, central defender Juanan is ruled out with a hamstring tear, confirmed by Moosa in his pre-match notes. Youngster Leon Augustine is also out with injury, while Rahul Bheke will be unavailable due to suspension after having picked up his fourth yellow card of the season.
Both former ISL champions have had a rocky and stop-start ISL season so far, unable to get going and register wins. With the business-end of the campaign now approaching with five league games left to play and only five points separating CFC and FC Goa in fourth place, it’s all heating up in search of the play-off spots.
The return of Thapa and the injection of creativity from new signing Lanzarote could hold the key for Chennaiyin against a compact Bengaluru FC side. The lack of creativity has been a pain point for them following Rafael Crivellaro’s unfortunate season-ending injury. And with this particular clash carrying that added significance for both sets of fans given the fervour around it being a southern derby and the recent history between both clubs, it sure promises to be an entertaining affair.
