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Defending champions ATK will gear up to host Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 on Thursday at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata. On Wednesday, the hosts announced the appointment of Technical Director Ashley Westwood as the interim head coach after they parted ways with Teddy Sheringham. Having just three wins in 10 matches this season, the two-time champions really need a change in fortunes to reach the playoffs, and an added dose of confidence after their 3-0 humbling by FC Pune City in their previous encounter.
The 2015 champions, on the other hand, occupy the top half of the points table and a win will ensure they reach the summit. The visitors, however, will be reeling from a 3-1 upset at the hands of NorthEast United FC in their last fixture and will look to getting back their composure against a struggling home side.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ATK 3:2 Chennaiyin FC (4 draws)
KEY PLAYERS
Jayesh Rane (ATK)
After missing the start of the season due to injury, the 24-year-old’s addition to the squad has given the defending champions some flair upfront. He has good speed and an eye for feeding the ball to strikers up front. His tally of 123 passes and 144 touches in just five games is a shining example of the talent Rane possesses. He is yet to reach optimum form this season, but if he hits his sweet spot, he will be quite a handful for Chennai to contain on Thursday.
Anirudh Thapa (Chennaiyin FC)
Chennai’s 20-year-old sensation has grabbed eyeballs this season and has already played eight matches for the 2015 champions. Having replaced Bikramjit Singh in the starting line-up at the last moment in their previous match, Thapa scored the lone goal for his team with a stunning volley which gave the opposition keeper no chance. With 231 passes and 265 touches already under his sleeve this season, Thapa is the surprise package whom ATK need to be wary of.
POTENTIAL STARTING LINEUPS
ATK
Ashley Westwood would probably field his team in the 4-2-3-1 formation, allowing enough back-up in defence to contain Chennai’s attack and also, to add intent upfront.
Goalkeeper: Debjit Majumder
Defenders: Keegan Pereira, Jordi Montel, Tom Thorpe, Prabir Das
Midfielders: Zequinha, Ryan Taylor, Conor Thomas, Rupert Nongrum, Jayesh Rane
Forward: Robin Singh
Ashley Westwood, ATK’s interim head coach, on his team and their opponents: “With regards to motivation, they’re professional players and we play in a fantastic stadium with great fans. Chennai are obviously second in the league. They score a lot of goals, are very strong, have three foreigners in their back four, are a huge threat from set-pieces and have some great Indian players. We know Jeje’s capabilities in scoring goals. It will be a good challenge. I’m sure the players will respond.”
Chennaiyin FC
John Gregory may go forward with the same 4-2-3-1 formation, which has yielded rich dividends in the past for his team.
Goalkeeper: Karanjit Singh
Defenders: Inigo Calderon, Mailson Alves, Henrique Sereno, Jerry Lalrinzuala
Midfielders: Dhanpal Ganesh, Anirudh Thapa, Thoi Singh, Rene Mihelic, Gregory Nelson
Forward: Jeje Lalpekhlua
The visiting head coach on their opponents of the night: “I regard ATK as the Manchester United of India. They’ve been champions twice. We look up to them. All my players are fired up because it’s ATK. They want to play in this beautiful stadium. At the start of the season, when the fixtures came out, the first thing I did was to look up when we’d play ATK. Our home game (against ATK) was an amazing match. That was one of the best games of my career.”
KEY STATS
Historically, ATK were unbeaten against Chennaiyin FC in the league stages of the ISL until their first meeting this season which saw Chennai registering a narrow victory.
Chennaiyin have scored 17 goals this season compared to ATK’s lowly 7.
LAST ENCOUNTER: Chennaiyin FC 3 – 2 ATK (7th December 2017 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai)
FORM GUIDE (Last five matches)
ATK: L W L D W
Chennaiyin FC: L W D W D
