Preview: NorthEast United look to end campaign on high note against Chennaiyin FC

The Marina Machans host The Highlanders in an essential season-end battle.

Chennaiyin FC will square off against NorthEast United FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in an essential dead rubber on Friday. The Marina Machans, placed eighth, can only get up to 27 points with a victory in this game. Which will still be three less than the sixth-placed Odisha FC’s tally of 30 after 20 matches. On the other hand, The Highlanders are still stuck at five points after 19 games. They can at best hope to round off the campaign on a positive note after an entirely disappointing campaign altogether.

The Stakes

Chennaiyin FC

Chennaiyin have been pretty inconsistent throughout the season, failing to secure victories in tightly-contested encounters. Most probably, there is nothing much to play for in this game other than head coach Thomas Brdaric trying out some youngsters by handing them some much-deserved playing time. Chennaiyin will hope that the final game of the season against NorthEast United is an appropriate culmination of the efforts that they have put in throughout the last 19 games. In that sense, a victory in front of their home crowd could be a fitting tribute and a positive end to an otherwise disappointing year.

NorthEast United FC

The Highlanders had sparked hopes of a turnaround after appointing Vincenzo Alberto Annese. He became the head coach midway through the year. However, their troubles continued even beyond that point as the club stares at the conclusion of its most unsuccessful campaign in the league so far. Lack of quality players coupled with the incapability to click together as a unit has seen NorthEast United being rolled over by pretty much every other opposition this season. However, Annese has sounded very assertive with his intent to click some wins even when all is lost in this campaign. Against that backdrop, his team NorthEast United will be edging to beat Chennaiyin in their own backyard to finish the season well.

Head-to-Head

Played – 17

NorthEast United – 6

Chennaiyin FC – 6

Drawn – 5

Predicted Line-Ups

Chennaiyin FC (4-2-3-1)

Samik Mitra(GK); Edwin Vanspaul, Vafa Hakhanameshi, Fallou Diagne, Aakash Sangwan; Anirudh Thapa, Julias Duker; Vincy Barretto, Rahim Ali, Jiteshwor Singh; Kwame Karikari.

NorthEast United (4-3-3)

Arindam Bhattacharjee (GK); Alex Saji, Mohammed Irshad, Aaron Evans, Gurjinder Kumar; Joseba Beitia, Emil Benny, Jithin MS; Parthib Gogoi, Wilmar Jordan, Kule Mbombo.

Player To Watch

Kwame Karikari (Chennaiyin FC)

The Ghanaian forward has gotten minutes far and few in between this season but he made a mark with a brace in the last game. Despite 15 appearances, he has played only an average of 29.8 minutes per game. He started in the last match and had a definite impact against the Gaurs last Wednesday. NorthEast United have conceded 51 goals in 19 games so far and an in-form Karikari will fancy his chances of putting more goals past Arindam Bhattacharjee to finish off the season strongly.

Parthib Gogoi (NorthEast United FC)

Parthib Gogoi has been one of the lone bright spots in a forgettable campaign for NorthEast United FC. The 20-year-old forward has netted twice in 17 games but he has impressed with his overall game awareness and ball-playing skills. He has pace to burn and can cause some significant trouble on the wings provided he uplifts his overall style of play. Gogoi might perhaps not attract many eyeballs playing in a better team but NorthEast’s fortunes this year have certainly provided him with an opportunity to record a promising debut year in the ISL.

Did You Know?

• Chennaiyin FC had defeated NorthEast United FC 7-3 in their previous fixture this season on December 10.
• NorthEast United FC have scored the least goals (17) and conceded the most (51) in the league this season.
• NorthEast United haven’t won against Chennaiyin FC in the last three seasons of the ISL. Their last victory against the Marina Machans was in January 2019.

Telecast

The match between NorthEast United and Chennaiyin FC will kick off at 7:30 PM IST and will be telecasted on the Star Sports network. It will also be live-streamed on Disney+Hotstar and Jio TV.