Preview: Kerala Blasters aim to get back on track against NorthEast United

The Yellow Army defeated the Highlanders 3-0 in their previous outing.

Kerala Blasters will face NorthEast United at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Saturday. The fourth-placed home side will relish their prospects of emerging victorious against the bottom-placed Highlanders.

The Blasters will be looking to hold on to their top-six spot by avoiding their slip-ups towards the fag end of the league campaign.

NorthEast are coming on the back of a 4-0 thrashing to the Islanders whereas the Blasters were defeated 3-1 by FC Goa on Sunday.

On that note, let's see what this encounter has on board.

The Stakes

Kerala Blasters FC

Kerala have suffered consecutive defeats in their last two games. Teams often tend to lose their plot in the final quarter of the league stages. Ivan Vukomanovic’s side will be edging to not miss out of a playoff spot after making it to the finals last year.

The game against a struggling NorthEast unit provides them an ideal opportunity to get some momentum back in this campaign. Contrastingly, a loss here, to a team that has won only a solitary game this season, can prove out to be very detrimental to their plans for the rest of the year.

NorthEast United

NorthEast have little to gain from the remaining five games of this season. They have lost a whopping 13 games so far. However, they still would be looking to round off the year on a high under the tutelage of new head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese.

The side has some talented youngsters in their ranks, who could gain confidence from some victories towards the end. In fact, handing Kerala a defeat in their own backyard could inject some much-needed enthusiasm in the squad.

Injury & Team News

Kerala Blasters will miss the services of Sandeep Singh and Marko Leskovic, since both of them are out injured. NorthEast United on the other hand, will see Wilmar Jordan missing the fixture due to suspension!

Head-to-Head

Kerala Blasters and NorthEast United have locked horns 17 times!

Kerala Blasters – 7

NorthEast United – 6

Drawn – 4

Predicted Line-Ups

Kerala Blasters (4-4-2)

Prabhsukhan Gill (GK); Harmanjot Khabra, Hormipam Ruivah, Victor Mongil, Jessel Carneiro; Rahul KP, Jeakson Singh, Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, Sahal Abdul Samad; Adrian Luna, Dimitrios Diamantakos

NorthEast United (4-3-3)

Mirshad Michu (GK); Joe Zoherliana, Alex Saji, Aaron Evans, Hira Mondal; Romain Philippoteaux, Sehnaj Singh, Pragyan Gogoi; Kule Mbombo, Parthib Gogoi, Jithin MS

Player To Watch

Dimitrios Diamantakos (Kerala Blasters)

The Greek forward has delivered consistently up front for Kerala, scoring seven goals and notching three assists in 14 matches. He has also demonstrated incredible work ethic, recording 1.8 tackles on an average per game.

Diamantakos has been regularly getting into goal-scoring positions and he will find ample opportunities to do so against a flailing NorthEast backline. He has interlinked incredibly well with his fellow forwards and these traits could help him possibly get on the scoresheet on Sunday.

Romain Philippoteaux (NorthEast United)

NorthEast will require Romain Philippoteaux to add some bite and creativity in the frontline in the absence of Wilmar Jordan Gil. The French midfielder has scored twice and assisted once in 14 appearances so far.

However, he has shown occasional glimpses of his abilities on both ends of the pitch. He can help protect the backline by withstanding the pressure exerted by Kerala’s midfield. On the other hand, he can play a fine role in unlocking the Kerala defence and help NorthEast develop some momentum as they push for goals in front of a hostile and vociferous Kochi crowd.

Did You Know?

• NorthEast United have scored the least goals (13) amongst all teams in the ISL 2022-23.
• Kerala Blasters players have been shown the most number of yellow cards (32) in the current ISL campaign.
• NorthEast have won only one of their last five matches against the Blasters.

Telecast

The live telecast of the Kerala Blasters vs NorthEast United match will be available on the Star Sports Network. The live stream of the fixture can be viewed on Disney+Hotstar and JioTV. Kick-off is at 7:30 PM IST on Sunday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.