Thomas Brdaric provides important injury update on El Khayati

The Chennaiyin FC head coach also shed light on the January transfer window activities.

Chennaiyin FC is set to take on Mumbai City on 24th December at the Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai. The first half of the season is done and Chennaiyin FC occupy the seventh spot in the points table with 14 points. The last match against Kerala Blasters ended in a draw after conceding early in the first half. This will also be an important fixture as Thomas Brdaric's side head out for three consecutive away games.

Chennaiyin and Mumbai City are currently the top two most-scoring teams of the season with Mumbai City remaining unbeaten throughout the first half of the league.

Chennaiyin FC head coach Thomas Brdaric shared his views at the pre-match press conference. Here's what he said.

January Transfer Updates

Thomas Brdaric started,” We will discuss with the management about this in detail after the next match against Mumbai City. There are a few positions which we need to strengthen and we would also like to lower the expenses."

Injury Updates

Chennaiyin FC have been one of the sides which have missed out on players due to injuries on a consistent basis. Alexander Romario Jesuraj hasn't played a single match to date and Kwame Karikari, after a brilliant start to the season, has appeared only three to four times.

The CFC mentor iterated, "Unfortunately, (Nasser) El Khayati will not be in the matchday squad with an injury. It is a pity to lose a player of his quality who cannot do much with the injury. We are working on his recovery and will do our best to get him back on the pitch soon. Along with El Khayati, Kwame Karikari also misses out but the likes of Jiteshwor Singh and (Anirudh) Thapa will be in the squad.”

Strategy against Mumbai City

Mumbai City occupy the top spot in the ISL 2022-23 points table with 24 points in 10 games and are on an unbeaten run. Chennaiyin FC meanwhile, lost the home match 2-6 to the Islanders in the first leg .

The head coach commented on the strategy they might deploy against Mumbai. He said, “It is good to know that we are competitive and can face all the teams in the ISL. We know the strengths of Mumbai and that they are currently in the first place and also are the favourites. The reason they are successful is that they use the opportunities and exploit the opposition. We need to be careful and have to play aggressive football and break their strengths to succeed in their home conditions.”

Thoughts going into the second half of the ISL

Chennaiyin FC are not far away from making it to the playoffs but have three crucial matches against (Mumbai, Jamshedpur, and Hyderabad, all away games.

The 47-year-old iterated, “We have completed half the season and are still in the learning process but the most important thing is to learn fast in professional football. We now know about all the teams having played against them. The next three matches will be crucial as all of them are away matches (Mumbai, Jamshedpur, and Hyderabad) and the boys are eager to deliver. Our defence is a concern which we need to concentrate on.”