Two teams playing for nothing but pride will go up against each other in Matchday 106 of the Hero ISL at the Tilak Maidan.
Blast from the past:
Owen Coyle’s Jamshedpur defeated Bengaluru FC as Steven Eze’s second half stood as the difference between both sides.
Jamshedpur FC:
The Redminers got knocked out of the playoffs race after Northeast United defeated East Bengal. Jamshedpur are high on confidence as they come into this game on the back of a 2-0 victory against Sergio Lobera’s Mumbai City FC. The Jamshedpur based club find themselves at the 6th position and are guaranteed to finish at that position with a win or draw against the blues. They also maintain a better head-to-head record against the former champions as they have won three, lost two and drawn two of the seven encounters between the teams so far. Owen Coyle and his side will hope they end the season on a strong note.
“We approach this game as we do in the other games. We want to win and we certainly want to replicate the performance we showed against Mumbai City FC, and to do that we have to be at our very best. The boys have worked hard, and came very close to reaching the semis. We want to finish on a strong note,” Coyle said ahead of the game.
Bengaluru FC:
Ever since joining the Indian Top flight back in 2017, this is the first time Bengaluru FC find themselves out of the top four. The Blues have struggled to find consistency on both end of pitch. FC Goa handed them a 2-1 defeat in their last match and brought an end to their slim top four hopes. The Sunil Chhetri led side will also want to end the season on a High note as thus will be their final fixture of Hero ISL 7 and will also be looking to end the season as high up the table as they can.
“We had two sessions, players looked normal, they did their best in training. They are enjoying the sessions. The only thing is there is not much pressure now. Before the last match, we had this thing that we need to go out there and win. That’s not there anymore. We just want to go out there and finish it in a nice way,” Bengaluru FC interim head coach Naushad Moosa said ahead of the game.
Players to watch out for:
David Grande (Jamshedpur FC)
The Spaniard did struggle for fitness for majority of the season but has not failed to make an impact when given an opportunity. He scored the second goal in Jamshedpur’s victory against Mumbai City FC and will have the opportunity to fill in the big boots of Nerijus Valskis who will out due to suspension.
Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC)
Sunil Chhetri is Bengaluru’s joint highest goalscorer alongside Cleiton Silva with 7 goals to his name. His partnership with the Brazilian has been a key when it comes to goal scoring and will be nothing less than a threat to Jamshedpur FC’s backline.
Probable Starting XI:
Jamshedpur FC: Pawan, Ricky, Eze, Hartley, Dinliana, Monroy, Lima, Farukh, Len Doungel, Grande, Williams.
Bengaluru FC: Gurpreet, Rahul, Pratik, Fran, Ajith, Suresh, Erik, Dimas, Ashique, Silva, Chhetri.