Struggling Odisha will face the unbeaten Bengaluru in the Thursday encounter of Indian Football League 2020-21. Odisha have lost four matches from the first five, while, the Blues have moved into the top four after defeating Kerala last week.
Match Timings: Dec 17, 7:30 PM IST
Team Preview
Losing striker Aridane Santana this season hurt Odisha but this fact will not recapitulate the story of Baxter’s side. Baxter couldn’t replicate Gombau’s brand of Football. The last season was not so convincing for them but they haven’t played like this in 2019-20. They have picked up just one point from the first five matches this season, only ahead of East Bengal in the table with a goal difference. Odisha have conceded seven goals and scored only two in five matches.
In the previous game, Odisha faced Goa and Igor Angulo’s only strike during stoppage time in the first half gave an easy win to the Gaurs. It was Arshdeep who stole the show with outstanding saves as the goalkeeper. The Indian goalkeeper denied Goa various times in the last match. He saved a brilliant shot from Angulo in the 64th minute with his left foot. In the second half, he pulled off two saves to avoid the big margin loss. Out of nine shots on goal, 23-years old goalkeeper made eight saves.
Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Diego Mauricio, and Manuel Onwu had an average game in the field and it cost Odisha three points. Onwu had zero shots on target in this match and Goa’s defense stopped Mauricio to score. The captain Steven Taylor made eight clearances but couldn't find his team equalising in the second half. The main strikers need to deliver for Odisha if they need a turnaround in the table. The defense lead by Jacob Tratt and Taylor had a busy outing but they require enough support from the midfield.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru are coming off a 4-2 victory against Kerala. It was one of the fascinating games of the season with a cracking second half. Rahul Kannoly started the scoring for Kerala with a free-kick in the 17th minute and the Blues replied back with Cleiton Silva’s goal with a poor error from Lalruthara who misjudged Gurpreet’s long goal-kick. Both Southern clubs were 1-1 after the first half and the second half started with back-to-back goals. The goals were flowing like a water in Fatorda. Sunil Chettri missed the penalty in the 48th minute but some poor defensive error allowed the Blues to take a 3-1 lead within five minutes. Jordan Murray struck his first goal of the season to fight for Kerala but Sunil Chhetri scored a fine goal through a header in the 65th minute to seal the game for Bengaluru.
The forward-line has been questioned before this match but after the victory against Kerala solved this issue. Out of four goals, two goals were scored by different players who haven’t scored in recent times. Erik Paartalu deflected Kristian Opseth's goalbound shot and send it past the Kerala goalkeeper. Dimas Delgado scored the third goal and he led the midfield for his side. He was outstanding against Kerala with great blocking and his pass accuracy was 88.5% in the previous outing.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Odisha
Lineup: Arshdeep Singh, Shubham Sarangi, Steven Taylor, Jacob Tratt, Hendry Antonay, Gaurav Bora, Cole Alexander, Vinit Rai, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Diego Mauricio, Manuel Onwu
Current form: L D L L L
Previous match: 1-0 defeat to Goa
Bengaluru
Lineup: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Rahul Bheke, Juanan, Erik Paartalu, Harmanjot Khabra, Dimas Delgado, Cleiton Silva, Suresh Wangjam, Sunil Chhetri (C), Ashique Kuruniyan, Deshorn Brown
Current form: D D W D W
Previous match: 4-2 victory over Kerala
Key Players
Odisha
Diego Mauricio
2 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Marcelinho
7 goals in Indian Football League (last season)
2 goals in pre-season 2020
Bengaluru
Sunil Chhetri
2 goals & 1 assist in Indian Football League 2020-21
Cleiton Silva
2 goals & 1 assist in Indian Football League 2020-21
