Chennai face NorthEast in must-win

The defending champions are placed seventh with 14 points from 12 matches and need six points to possibly make the cut. Such battles are no alien to Chennaiyin FC and they will have to prove they can do an encore, starting Saturday.  

Last season, Chennaiyin FC were struggling at the bottom for most part but turned their fortunes around with a late surge, not just qualifying for the semi-finals but going on to win the title at FC Goa’s expense in Goa.

This time, not everything has worked according to plan or Marco Materazzi but all is still not lost for the defending champions. “We knew we were in a must-win situation and now we know that we have to win the next two games to get six points and we have shown (in the past) we can battle every team,” said Materazzi.

Chennaiyin FC have lost three of their last five matches, including the last one against Mumbai City FC, but they cannot afford any-more slips. 

On the other hand, the Highlanders have instilled life in their campaign with a solitary goal victory over FC Pune City in their last game, a result that helped them stay alive. NorthEast United had gone six games without a win, losing four of them, but the 1-0 victory over Pune City took them to the sixth spot with 14 points from 11 matches. 

NorthEast United are likely to have the services of first-choice defenders Robin Gurung, Gustavo Lazzaretti and Nirmal Chettri, all of whom missed the last clash against Pune City, although for the moment the coach was keeping his fingers crossed.Interestingly, a win for either team will take them to the top four.