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Delhi Dynamos FC
Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata
Thursday 29th October, 2015 1900 IST
As we come to the last match of round six of the Indian Super League (ISL) round robin stage, Ita s Delhi Dynamos FC, who travels to Atletico de Kolkata (ATK), at the mighty Salt Lake Stadium. Both these teams are on the fringes of the coveted top-four spots on the ISL table, and would be looking to get the necessary points, to make it to the semi final qualification spots.
While ATK must win to break their way back into the top-four, the equation is a bit easier on Delhi Dynamos FC, who only need a draw to do the same. A win, of course, would take them to the top of the table, level on points with FC Pune City.
Team News and Tactics
Atletico de Kolkata
After two away matches against FC Pune City and North East United FC (NEUFC), which ended in successive losses, Antonio Lopez Habasa men would be looking to get better results from their second home match of the season. However, as they get ready to welcome Delhi Dynamos FC into their home stadium, ATK would be weary of the fact that they are missing some of their key players, and would be wary of the threat posed by the Delhi Dynamos attackers, especially the likes of Gustavo Dos Santos, Richard Gadze, and Robin Singh.
The ATK midfield has been misfiring of late, and would be further depleted, as Arata Izumi is also set to miss this match due to injury. However, ATKa s biggest loss after that of Postiga, arguably is that of centreback Josemi, who had formed a formidable partnership at the back of a tight ATK defence. However, the Spaniard has been ruled out of the rest of the season with a knee injury, and has flown back home, leaving Jose Arroyo to pair-up with Mondal, ahead of this crucial tie.
Possible Lineup (4-2-3-1): Arminder; Denzil, Arnab, Arroyo, Augustine; Borja, Nato; Baljit, Gavilan, Lara; Hume.
Delhi Dynamos FC
The biggest news for every Delhi fan is that Roberto Carlos is fit again, and has said that he would play in this game against ATK. However, it is unlikely that the Brazilian legend, who is also their marquee player-cum-manager, will put himself on the starting XI. In fact, he even said that since the filed has gotten too big for him, with age, he would not be playing left back. We could probably see Carlos operating as a defensive midfielder, which means that he would have to compete against the pace and strength of ATK forward Iain Hume.
Delhi Dynamos have been excellent defensively, this season, conceding the least amount of goals (five) so far. However, they have had their own problems in front of goal, being the team to score the least amount (four). Their top marksman Robin Singh, who is considered as one of the best strikers from India, along with Sunil Chhetri, has only been able to score one goal till now, and has looked out of touch, ever since returning from international duty. It is unlikely however, that he would be dropped by Carlos (who has increasingly shown more support for the frontman. Plus, the fact that the starting XI must have at least five Indian players, is also another factor that helps Robin stay in the game.
Possible Lineup (4-4-2): . Doblas; Shouvik, Anas, Chicao, Riise; Shenaj, Mulder; Dos Santos, Shylo, Malouda; Robin.
Prediction:
Atletico de Kolkata 0-0 Delhi Dynamos
Both the encounters between these two teams last season ended in 1-1 and 0-0 draws respectively, and a goalless draw is what we expect, since both the teams have been struggling in front of goal. This, coupled with a couple of strong defence increasingly points towards a goalless draw.
Image Courtesy:Indian Super League Media Team