Chennaiyin FC eyes hat-trick of wins

The race for the Indian Super League (ISL) play-off spots is set to get hotter as Chennaiyin FC hosts Jamshedpur FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

Both sides head into the clash high on confidence as they seek a strong win to close the gap on the top four. Chennaiyin, which has 15 points from 12 games, won back-to-back duels against Hyderabad FC and NorthEast United FC. Tourist Jamshedpur (16 points from 12 matches) snapped a six-game winless run with a 3-2 win over Kerala Blasters.

“It looks pretty clear that the first three play-off spots are sealed. There is one spot which we can realistically get. We are there in the mix, fighting for it despite the injuries we have had. This match is like a final for us,” said Jamshedpur FC’s Spanish head coach Antonio Iriondo.

Chennaiyin will look to flex its muscles at home. In the last five home matches, CFC has gone down only once. Jamshedpur has a very poor away record. Since last season, it has won just two games on the road. The ‘Marina Machans’ has found its attacking mojo under manager Owen Coyle.

Under him, Chennaiyin has scored 12 goals in six matches and the key to that have been Rafael Crivellaro and Nerijus Valskis. While striker Valskis has been banging in the goals, the creative outlet is Crivellaro. The Brazilian has been on fire under Coyle and has 24 key passes to his name, the most by any player in ISL 2019-20.

“Jamshedpur is coming after a big lift, having won against Kerala. For us, what is important is that we managed to score goals. We have shown we are dangerous offensively. But we need to have some balance,” said Coyle.

“We missed a lot of chances (against NorthEast) but those opportunities came as a result of our football. However, we did score two great goals. We have improved our goal tally but there is room for improvement. We need to be more clinical up front,” he added. CFC’s attack might just fancy itself against a leaky JFC defence that has failed to keep a clean sheet in its last seven matches.

Moreover, it will also miss defensive mainstay Tiri, who was injured in the win over Blasters. However, the return of Sergio Castel is a huge advantage for Jamshedpur’s frontline, which looked toothless during his absence. The centre-forward scored a penalty after coming on as a substitute against Kerala and should start the game in Chennai.

His importance to Iriondo’s set-up is such that Jamshedpur has never won a game without Castel’s involvement. With the likes of Farukh Chowdhury, Noe Acosta and Aitor Monroy playing well, Iriondo will hope Castel gets good service upfront.

Defending champion Bengaluru FC thrashed Odisha FC 3-0 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Wednesday. New signing Deshorn Brown, Rahul Bheke and captain Sunil Chhetri netted a goal each for the holder, which moved to the top of the Indian Super League 2019-20 points table. With the victory, BFC has 25 points after 14 matches. Odisha remains fourth in the standings with 21 points from the same number of games as its rival.