Round-16 Prediction Statistics:
Correct Predictions : 4/7
Exact Score-line : 1/7
Season’s Prediction Statistics:
Correct Predictions : 59/110
Exact Score-line : 25/110
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PUNE FC
v
AIR INDIA
Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune
4th Feb, 2010 – 7:00 PM IST
The Maharashtra derby kicks off at the Balewadi sports complex, which has been busy over the past month hosting matches for different competitions. In round-16, Derrick Pereira’s boys seemed to have clinched the tie before the lemon break when Venkatesh thumped in his debut goal for this season, following strikes form, Gurjinder, Keita and an Edmar spot kick, only to let the struggling Kerala side return the favor in the second half. Derrick Pereira and the players were left frustrated and ruing over the loss of two precious points. The Red Lizards welcome The Pilots at home, and Derrick’s team would like to settle for nothing but a victory, as his team hasn’t lost a tie since round-13, notching up 11 goals. The strikers seem to be finding the back of the net for the Pune side, but the situation needs to be assessed at the back, especially after the last round match, which left the Pune side hovering at ninth in the league.
Yusuf Ansari’s side are placed at the bottom of the table, along with ONGC FC and are slotted at thirteenth only on the basis of Goal Difference. The Airmen earned a crucial point in their Round 16 match when the striker in red hot form O.Praise slotted his fourth goal of the season. The Maharashtra side hasn’t tasted success in their last five matches, since they shocked Dempo, and would be desperate as they make a short trip to Pune. It is high time that the defenders pull their socks up and defend their territory, as Air India does have a knack of slotting in a goal. It would be close encounter as only 5 points separate the bottom six teams and every point can push the either side up the table.
TheHardTackle’s PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Edmar (Pune FC), O.Praise (Air India)
TheHardTackle’s PREDICTION
Pune FC 2 – 1 Air India
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SALGAOCAR
v
HAL SC
PJN Stadium, Margaon, Goa
4th March, 2011 – 3:45 PM IST
Karim Bencharifa’s men maintained their top of table status as they demonstrated a professional display of football to clear the ONGC test at Fatorda. The veteran Ghanaian hitman Yusif Yakubu was in superb touch scoring a brace for the Goan Greens, taking his tally to 9 for the season. The young academy product Gilbert Olivera scored a brace too with Japanese sensational mid field architect, Ryuiji Sueoka continuing with his amazing season scoring his 14th for the Goans. Salgaocar suddenly look unstoppable with all the key players on the top of their game and strikers finishing off the moves with style. Karim Bencharifa’s men have scored 13 times, conceding only a solitary goal in their last three fixtures.
The Goan Greens welcome a rejuvenated HAL side who have made out of the drop zone and are slowly crawling their way up, where they initially belonged at the start of the season. J. Murali’s side has capitalized on their recent flurry of home games, garnering 8 crucial points out of 12 available. The institutional side would make this trip to Goa after Round 11, and face the table toppers as they look to continue with their good defending form. HAL need to put in a gritty and mettlesome performance at the back if they want to bag any points out of this fixture. The Bangalore side is currently slotted at eighth in the league and a draw or a victory would catapult them to seventh or sixth respectively.
TheHardTackle’s PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Y.Yakubu (Salgaocar SC), R.Chand (HAL SC)
TheHardTackle’s PREDICTION
Salgaocar SC 3 – 1 HAL SC
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MOHUN BAGAN
v
VIVA KERALA
Yuvabharati Krirangan, Kolkata
5th March, 2010 – 1:45 PM IST
The Mariners would not be a happy lot as all they could muster in last round is their fifth successive draw. Subhas Bhowmick’s side are positioned at sixth, and they are slowly threatened by Chirag United and HAL. The strikers have not been at their best as the Green-&-Maroon army have only hit the back of the net thrice in their last five games, three of them at home. Subhas Bhowmick would be lamenting this dip of form just as his team was looking good to challenge for the title. His team played out a goalless stalemate in round 16 as Chidi and Muritala missed some sitters.
Round 17 tie sees the Kolkata giants welcome Viva kerala, a side who has suddenly found scoring boots in abundance as they have scored surprising 11 goals in their last two games. Interesting till round 15 they had scored only a single goal. Kunhikrishnan’s Hair Dryer treatment worked for the Neelapadda as they came from a deficit of four goals to collect a point in a sensational match at Balewadi in their last round. Viva Kerala would be high on confidence as they travel to Kolkata to face Mohun Bagan and could certainly make the season for the former champions go from bad to worse, if they manage to repeat their home leg performance against the Mariners earlier in the season. Anil Kumar and Felix Chimaokwu have suddenly found a purple patch and would be the pair to watch out for the Deepak Mondal led Bagan defense on Saturday.
TheHardTackle’s PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Muritala (Mohun Bagan AC), Felix Chimaokwu (Viva Kerala FC)
TheHardTackle’s PREDICTION
Mohun Bagan AC 1 – 1 Viva Kerala
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ONGC FC
v
DEMPO SC
Sahu Maharaj Stadium, Kohlapur
5th March, 2011 – 3:30 PM IST
ONGC FC occupies the bottom of the table slot after the institutional side from Maharashtra were easily shrugged aside by Salgaocar in their previous round assignment, as the Goans fired five past Goalkeeper Rajat. Babatunde, last year’s second division top scorer, is the only player who looks to threaten the goal for the otherwise average Kolhapur side. Subrata Bhattacharya’s (Jr) side is heavily tipped to go down this season and go back to I-league 2. His side welcomes the Champions Dempo at Kolhapur. After the shock win over East Bengal, ONGC have lost some ground and are back to losing ways, as they have lost three matches in their last five match up’s in the league.
Dempo secured their eighth win of the season in the previous round against inaugural champions JCT FC, coming from behind to take all three points in Ludhiana. Brazilian Roberto Silva snatched victory as the Goan Side was looking all set to share points. Dempo SC would be high on confidence as they return to challenge for I-league, after defeating the Yemen’s Al-Tilal in their AFC Champions League Qualifying match at Pune. With strikers in red hot form, Armando Calcao would be hoping for all three points as his side makes a short trip to Kolhapur.
TheHardTackle’s PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Babatunde (ONGC FC), Beto (Dempo SC)
TheHardTackle’s PREDICTION
ONGC FC 1 – 3 Dempo SC
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EAST BENGAL
v
MUMBAI FC
Yuvabharati Krirangan, Kolkata
6th March, 2011 – 1:45 PM IST
Trevor Morgan’s side have lost their way recently winning only once in their last five games and drawing three. East Bengal had their AFC Qualifying commitment yesterday, where the Red-&-Gold brigade came from a 2 goal deficit to earn a draw against Thailand’s Chonburi FC. East Bengal dropped two crucial points at Gurgaon last time around, increasing the gap of points between Salgaocar and themselves. The Former champions haven’t been clinical in front of the goal, as the chances are not converted as per Trevor’s linking. The Kolkata giants are now 5 points off the table toppers with a game in hand and they need to make sure that they keep winning the games from now on by converting chances to maintain pressure on the Goan Greens and wait for any kind of slip up.
Trevor Morgan’s sides welcome the impressive Mumbai FC side, who find themselves positioned at impressive fifth in the table, despite of losing their last encounter to a resurgent HAL side. Mumbai side are two points clear of the sixth placed Mohun Bagan side and would like to hoard some points as they make a long trip to YBK. Henry Ezeh came to the rescue of Khalid Jamil’s side when both these sides met in Kolhapur, would be the man to watch out for Gurwinder and Co. at the back. It would be an interesting encounter as both the sides would be going for the kill and a high scoring game could be on the cards at YBK.
TheHardTackle’s PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Robin Singh (East Bengal), E. Sukore (Mumbai FC)
TheHardTackle’s PREDICTION
East Bengal 3 – 2 Mumbai FC
TheHardTackle’s Players To Watch Out For:
Edmar (Pune FC), O.Praise (Air India)
TheHardTackle’s Prediction:
Pune FC 2 – 1 Air India
Salgaocar- HAL
Karim Bencharifa’s men maintained their top of table status as they demonstrated a professional display of football as they passed the ONGC test at Fatorda. The veteran Ghanaian hit man Yakubu is in prime form scoring a brace for the Goan Greens, taking his tally to 9 for the season. The young recruit Gilbert Olivera scored a brace too with Japanese sensational mid field architect continuing with his amazing season scoring his 14th for the Goans. Salgaocar suddenly look unstoppable as almost all the players on the top of their game and strikers finishing off the moves with style. Karim Bencharifa’s men have scored 13 times, conceding only a solitary goal in their last three fixtures.
The Goan Greens welcome a rejuvenated HAL side who have made out of the drop zone and are slowly crawling their way up, where they initially belonged at the start of the season. K.Murali’s side has capitalized on their recent flurry of home games, garnering 8 crucial points out of 12 available. The institutional sides make a trip to Goa after Round 11, and face the table toppers as they look to continue with their good defending form. HAL need to put in a gritty and mettlesome performance at the back if they want to bag any points out of this fixture. The Bangalore side is currently slotted at eighth in the league and a draw or a victory would catapult them to seventh or sixth respectively.
TheHardTackle’s Players To Watch Out For:
Y.Yakubu (Salgaocar SC), R.Chand (HAL SC)
TheHardTackle’s Prediction:
Salgaocar SC 3 – 1 HAL SC
Mohun Bagan- Viva Kerala
The Mariners would not be happy lot after they notched their fifth successive draw. Subhas Bhowmick’s side are positioned at sixth from many rounds are slowly threatened by Chirag United and HAL. The strikers have not been at their best as the Green-&-Maroon army has only hit the back of the net thrice in their last five games, three of them at home. Subhas Bhowmick would be lamenting this dip of form just as his team was looking good to challenge for the title. His team played out a goalless stalemate in round 16 as Chidi and Muritala missed some sitters.
Round 17 tie sees the Kolkata giants welcome Viva kerala, a side who has suddenly found scoring boots in abundance as they have scored surprising 11 goals in their last two games, scoring only once before round 15. Kunhikrishnan’s Hair Dryer treatment worked for the Neelapadda as they came from a deficit of four goals to collect a point in a sensational match at Balewadi in their last round. Viva Kerala would be high on confidence as they travel to Kolkata to face Mohun Bagan and could certainly make the season for the former champions go from bad to worse, if they manage to beat the Kolkata side. Anil Kumar and Felix Chimaokwu have suddenly found a purple patch and would be the pair to watch out for the Deepak Mondal and Co. on Saturday.
TheHardTackle’s Players To Watch Out For:
Muritala (Mohun Bagan AC), Felix Chimaokwu (Viva Kerala FC)
TheHardTackle’s Prediction:
Mohun Bagan AC 1 – 1 Viva Kerala
ONGC FC- Dempo SC
ONGC FC occupies the bottom of the table after the institutional side from Maharashtra was easily shrugged aside by Salgaocar in their previous round assignment, as the Goans fired five past Goalkeeper Rajat. Babatunde, last year’s second division top scorer, is the only player who looks to threaten the goal for the otherwise average Kolhapur side. Subrata Bhattacharya’s (Jr) side is heavily tipped to go down this season and go back to I-league 2. His side welcomes the Champions Dempo at Kolhapur. After the shock win over East Bengal, ONGC have lost some ground and are back to losing ways, as they have lost three matches in their last five match up’s in the league.
Dempo secured their eighth win of the season in the previous round against inaugural champions JCT FC, coming from behind to take all three points in Ludhiana. Brazilian Roberto Silva snatched victory as the Goan Side was looking all set to share points. Dempo SC would be high on confidence as they return to challenge for I-league, after defeating the Yemen’s Al-Tilal in their AFC Champions League Qualifying match at Pune. With strikers in red hot form, Armando Calcao would be hoping for all three points as his side makes a short trip to Kolhapur.
TheHardTackle’s Players To Watch Out For:
Babatunde (ONGC FC), Beto (Dempo SC)
TheHardTackle’s Prediction:
ONGC FC 1 – 3 Dempo SC
East Bengal-Mumbai FC
Trevor Morgan’s side have lost their way recently winning only once in their last five games and drawing three. East Bengal had their AFC Qualifying commitment yesterday, where the Red-&-Gold brigade came from a 2 goal deficit to earn a draw against Thailand’s Chonburi FC. East Bengal dropped two crucial points at Gurgaon last time around, increasing the gap of points between Salgaocar and themselves. The Former champions haven’t been clinical in front of the goal, as the chances are not converted as per Trevor’s linking. The Kolkata giants are now 5 points off the table toppers with a game in hand and they need to make sure that they keep winning the games from now on by converting chances to maintain pressure on the Goan Greens and wait for slip up’s.
Trevor Morgan’s sides welcome the impressive Mumbai FC side, who find themselves positioned at impressive fifth in the table, despite of losing their last encounter to a resurgent HAL side. Mumbai side are two points clear of the sixth placed Mohun Bagan side and would like to hoard some points as they make a long trip to YBK. Henry Ezeh came to the rescue of Khalid Jamil’s side when both these sides met in Kolhapur, would be the man to watch out for Gurwinder and Co. at the back.
It would be an interesting encounter as both the sides would be going for the kill and high scoring game could be on the cards at YBK.
TheHardTackle’s Players To Watch Out For:
Robin Singh (East Bengal), E. Sukore (Mumbai FC)
TheHardTackle’s Prediction: