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V
FC Pune City
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi
4th November, 2015, 7PM IST
***
Kerala Blasters welcome FC Pune City at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, as they kickoff the second leg of the Hero Indian Super League.
Kerala Blasters, under newly appointed Terry Phelan, will look for a victory against FC Pune City having nearly snatched a point against the league leaders at the Balewadi Sports Complex. Mohammed Rafi and Kalu Uche had put up a goal fest for the spectators but FC Pune City snatched all three points thanks to Tuncay Sanlia s header. Kerala Blasters would have felt hard done by the result and will be motivated to prove it wrong.
Kerala Blasters have not only have put a stop to their four match losing streak since then, with a draw against Chennaiyin put also put pressure on NorthEast United, as they look to dislodge themselves from the foot of the table. Meanwhile, FC Pune City also come into the game on the back of a draw against FC Goa.
Team News and Tactical Brief
Kerala Blasters
Kerala Blasters is likely to continue with a back four formation that has proven to better suited to the squad. Stephen Bywater will continue in the goal but the central defender Peter Ramage might be rested in favour of Bruno Perone. Both Rahul Bheke and Saumik Dey, who produced a delicious assist in the previous match, are expected to continue their roles as fullbacks. India international Sandesh Jhingan will be lining up to pair alongside Perone in the central defence.
The midfield is likely to contain Mehtab Hossain, and Coimbra who would be providing steel, while Josu be taking care of the creative side. It isna t expected that Phelan would fiddle with the partnership of Md. Rafi and Chris Dagnall but Sanchez Watt did enough in the previous match to merit a place in the lineup.
Probable starting eleven: Bywater; Bheke, Jhingan, Perone, Saumik;, Mehtab, Josu, Coimbra;Watt, Dagnall, Rafi.
FC Pune City
The Stallions, with a pack of team closely following them, will look to extend their lead at the top of the table with a victory over a motivated Kerala Blasters, who are under new management.
Steve Simonsen has performed brilliantly over the course of the season and isna t likely to dropped after one poor performance. FC Pune City despite chopping and changing early on in the season, have finally seems to have found their best combination and isna t likely to alter much from it. The defence is likely to remain the same with Dharamaraj Ravanan, Gouramangi Singh to accompany Gurjinder Kumar and Roger Johnson in defence to counter the aerial ability of the Kerala Blasters forwards.
Nicky Shorey, who had been inspirational in an advanced position against Kerala Blasters, will be looking to repeat the same as he partners alongside midfield enforcer Didier Zokora and Indians Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Jackichand Singh. FC Pune City would want their forward duo of Tuncay Sanli and Kalu Uche to build up their combinations as prepare to get ready for the playoffs.
Probable starting eleven : Simonsen; Ravanan, Johnson, Gouramangi, Gurjinder; Jackichand, Lyngdoh, Zokora, Shorey; Sanli, Uche.
Prediction
Kerala Blasters 2-1 FC Pune City
Kerala Blasters, motivated to perform under their new coach, will be itching to prove their intent with a win over league leaders in front of their home fans. Kerala Blaster fell short to the individual brilliance of Nicky Shorey at the Balewadi Sports Complex, but will look to take inspirations from FC Goa who went on to qualify for the playoffs after a dismal first leg of the season.
Image Courtesy:Indian Super League Media Team