Delhi Dynamos FC 
V
Chennaiyin FC
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
*****
The 6th match of Indian Super League 2015 between the Delhi Dynamos FC and Chennaiyin FC will take place on 08 October 2015 at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Both the teams will be looking to register their first wins in the second edition of the ISL after losing their opening matches.
Chennaiyin FC lost their opening encounter against defending champions Atletico de Kolkata by a 3-2 scoreline in a match riddled with defensive errors from the home side. Delhi Dynamos, on the other hand, were comfortably beaten 2-0 away from home by FC Goa on Matchday 2 of the Indian Super League.
Team News and Tactical Brief:
Delhi Dynamos FC:
Delhi Dynamos will be looking to reassert their title credentials when they take on last year’s table toppers Chennaiyin FC in their first home match of the season.
The Dynamos will be without midfielders Francis Fernandes and Sehnaj Singh; and striker Robin Singh for the clash against Chennaiyin as the trio have been called up for international duty by the Indian national football team.
Manager Roberto Carlos started with a 3-5-2 formation in the first half of the Delhi’s match against FC Goa. Although he did alter the formation at half time, Carlos is expected to stick to this formation at the start of the match against Chennaiyin FC. With injuries to regular goalkeepers Subhasish Roy Chowdhury and Ravi Kumar, emergency recruit Sanjiban Ghosh is expected to continue in goal for the Dynamos.
In defence, Roberto Carlos is expected to field the same back 3 comprising of Ali, Chicao and John Arne Riise who started against FC Goa. Ralte and Chakraborty will most likely be deployed as wing backs on the left and the right flank respectively. It will be interesting to see if Carlos give himself a start against Chennaiyin or decides to come off the bench as he did against Goa.
Star winger Florent Malouda is expected to start on the left hand side of midfield for the Dynamos. He will accompanied by Malsawmatulanga and last year’s player of the season Hans Mulder. Vinicius Ferreira De Souza will partner Richard Gadze up front for the Dynamos, although the highly rated Adil Nabi may get a look in as well.
Probable Starting Lineup (3-5-2): Ghosh (GK), . Riise, Ali, Chicao; Chakraborty, Ralte, Mulder, Malouda, Malsawmatulanga; Ferreira, Gadze.
Chennaiyin FC:
Just like the Dynamos, Chennaiyin FC will be looking to bounce back from their opening day defeat to Kolkata when they travel to the capital. Chennaiyin striker Jeje Lalpekhlua and goalkeeper Karanjit Singh will be unavailable to travel to Delhi as they have been called up by the Indian national team to play the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Turkmenistan and Oman. In the absence of Indian International Karanjit Singh, Edel will continue in goal for the Chennai based outfit.
Manager Marco Materazzi will be looking to shore up his team’s defence after a disastrous showing against Atletico de Kolkata. He is expected to continue his faith in the 4 man backline of Potenza, Ralte, Mailson and Das. Raphael Augusto, Harmanjot Khabra and Thoi Singh will form the midfield three behind last season’s revelation Elano, who will operate as the playmaker. In the absence of Lalpekhlua, Balwant Singh is expected to partner Ethiopian striker Fikru Teferra in attack.
Probable Starting Lineup (4-3-1-2): Edel (GK); Potenza, Ralte, Mailson, Das; Augusto, Khabra, Singh; Elano; Teferra, Singh.
Predictions:
Delhi Dynamos FC 2-2 Chennaiyin FC
The Delhi Dynamos FC will be hoping to kickstart their ISL campaign by beating Chennaiyin FC in front of their home fans in the capital. Chennaiyin FC, who topped the ISL league table last season, will be hoping to notch their first win of the campaign against a fledgling Delhi defence. With both teams struggling to contain the opposition in their opening match in the tournament, we can expect a lively encounter to ensue at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Quality attacking players such as Elano and Malouda will be hoping to stamp their mark on the encounter through their skill and trickery. A scored draw is to be expected between the two teams.