Preview: Hyderabad FC seek Durand Cup revenge over Bengaluru FC

Both teams will be eager to build on the perfect start they made this season.

Hyderabad FC will play their next Indian Super League 2022-23 home fixture at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday, 22 October 2022. The Nizams will welcome the Durand Cup 2022 winners Bengaluru FC at their own den. 

It is going to be an exciting fixture as both teams are yet to taste defeat and will aim to maintain their perfect start to the campaign. Manolo Marquez has the huge task of guiding Hyderabad FC through a season where they are no longer the underdogs while Simon Grayson will hope to stand up to the high expectations at Bengaluru FC.

As the fixture is coming near, here is what to expect from the game and things to watch out for.

The Stakes

Hyderabad FC

Hyderabad FC showed their class in the previous game with a 3-0 victory away from home against NorthEast United. Recording the first win of the season after an opening-day stalemate with Mumbai City was vital for the club. There are huge expectations from the Nizams this year after the club won the ISL Trophy last term. Bagging three points against a high-flying BFC will be a huge statement of intent.

Bengaluru FC

Bengaluru FC have a lot of critics to prove wrong this year. The Blues must deliver and gain qualification into the playoffs this season. The Nizams will be direct competitors for the playoffs which means that the upcoming clash will be extremely important. If BFC wins three points, they will cement themselves as the team to watch out for.

Team News

Hyderabad FC will likely miss Joel Chianese who is suffering from a hamstring injury apart from Rohit Danu and Gurmeet Singh. However, the good news is that Akash Mishra has recovered. Bengaluru meanwhile, will be missing on Prince Ibara.

Head-to-Head

These two teams have met seven times in the past where both Hyderabad FC and Bengaluru FC have won two games each. Three matches have ended in draws. Their last meeting saw the Nizams succumb to a 0-1 defeat to the Blues in the Durand Cup semi-final.

Probable Line-ups

Hyderabad FC: Laxmkiant Kattimani (GK), Nikhil Poojary, Odei Onaindia, Chinglensana Singh, Manoj Mohammad, Joao Victor, Hitesh Sharma, Mohammad Yasir, Halicharan Narzary, Bartholomew Ogbeche, Javier Siverio.

Bengaluru FC: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Alan Costa, Sandesh Jhingan, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Prabir Das, Naorem Roshan Singh, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Bruno Ramires, Sivasakthi Narayanan, Sunil Chhetri, Roy Krishna.

Man to Watch

Mohammad Yasir (Hyderabad FC)

At the moment, Mohammad Yasir is one of the best-performing Indian players in the Indian Super League. The exciting winger has begun the season well for HFC. His performances in the first two matches have been noteworthy. 

The 24-year-old already has two assists from the first two games and will look to add more. He is playing with a lot of confidence and does not shy away from taking a shot. However, he is most effective in creating goal-scoring chances for his teammates and BFC must keep him quiet. 

Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC)

Sunil Chhetri is definitely a player to watch out for. Whenever the legendary player is on the pitch, one can expect brilliance out of nowhere. The 38-year-old completed 90 minutes in both the matches against NEUFC and CFC. Despite failing to score a goal yet, it is only a matter of time before Chhetri finds the back of the net.

He will be crucial to BFC if the club is to qualify for the playoffs this season. Chhetri could hurt HFC if their defenders allow the forward room inside the box or give away free kicks in the goalmouth area.

Did You Know?

• Simon Grayson led Leeds United to promotion to the EFL Championship in 2010.
• G.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium has a capacity of around 30,000 for matches.
• Not a single match between HFC and BFC has seen one team score more than two goals.

Telecast

The match between the two star-studded teams will kick off at 7:30 PM at the G.M.C Balayogi Athletic Stadium. The live telecast of the Hyderabad FC vs Bengaluru FC game will be available on the Star Sports Network. The live stream for the game will be available on Disney+Hotstar and Jio TV.