ISL 2023-24: Fixtures, format and more | October

An action packed month of ISL awaits!

The 2023-24 ISL season has started with a bang, with so much high quality action and drama, and we are just done with matchweek 2. 

Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan have made a fabulous start to the ISL season, making it two in two after their feisty win over Bengaluru, who after two games, look in a dire situation at the table. Mumbai’s draw against former boss' side Odisha FC also ensured a sparkling start to the season, whereas Juan Pedro’s men have continued their promising elevation.

With so many narratives already on the table, October arrives as a dinner plate for the hungry supporters, as a month full of football frenzy awaits them. 

So let’s take a deeper look into all the action coming up in the month of October

Teams

Mohun Bagan Super Giant

Mumbai City FC

Northeast United FC

Kerala Blasters

Odisha FC

East Bengal

FC Goa

Chennaiyin FC

Punjab FC

Hyderabad FC

Bengaluru FC

Jamshedpur FC

Format

The format of the ISL is going to be the same as last season. Every team in the league is  going to compete against every other team twice throughout the season in a home and away format. Once all teams have played their 20 league stage fixtures, we head onto the knockouts. 

In the knockouts, the team placed third and sixth in the final league table, will play against each other in a one off knockout game. Similarly, the fourth and fifth placed teams will also play against each other.

The winner of the knockouts will then take on the top two teams in the league table, in a two legged semi final fixture. The winner of the semi finals will then face off in the final of the Indian Super League. 

The teams will be ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria will be applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:

1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
4. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
5. Goal difference in all group matches;
6. Goals scored in all group matches;
7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they are playing each other in the last round of the group;
8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = −1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = −3 points, direct red card = −3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = −4 points);
9. Drawing of lots.

Venues

Sree Kanteerava Stadium (Bengaluru FC)

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennaiyin FC)

Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (East Bengal and Mohun Bagan SuperGiants )

Fatorda Stadium (FC Goa)

Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium (Northeast United FC)

GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium (Hyderabad FC)

JRD Tata Sports Complex (Jamshedpur FC)

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Kochi (Kerala Blasters FC)

Mumbai Football Arena (Mumbai City FC)

Kalinga Stadium (Odisha FC)

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Delhi (Punjab FC)

ISL Fixtures for October

October 1, Sunday	Kerala Blasters vs Jamshedpur FC	8:00 PM	Kochi	2
October 2, Monday	FC Goa vs Punjab FC	8:00 PM	Goa	2
October 4, Wednesday	Bengaluru FC vs East Bengal	8:00 PM	Bengaluru	3
October 5, Thursday	Jamshedpur FC vs Hyderabad FC	8:00 PM	Jamshedpur	3
October 6, Friday	Punjab FC vs NorthEast United FC	8:00 PM	Delhi	3
October 7, Saturday	FC Goa vs Odisha FC	8:00 PM	Goa	3
October 7, Saturday	Chennaiyin FC vs Mohun Bagan	8:00 PM	Chennai	3
October 8, Sunday	Mumbai City FC vs Kerala Blasters	8:00 PM	Mumbai	3
October 21, Saturday	East Bengal vs FC Goa	8:00 PM	Kolkata	4
October 21, Saturday	Kerala Blasters vs NorthEast United FC	8:00 PM	Kochi	4
October 22, Sunday	Jamshedpur FC vs Punjab FC	8:00 PM	Jamshedpur	4
October 23, Monday	Hyderabad FC vs Chennaiyin FC	8:00 PM	Hyderabad	4
October 25, Wednesday	Bengaluru FC vs FC Goa	8:00 PM	Bengaluru	5
October 26, Thursday	NorthEast United FC vs Jamshedpur FC	8:00 PM	Guwahati	5
October 27, Friday	Kerala Blasters vs Odisha FC	8:00 PM	Kochi	5
October 28, Saturday	Mumbai City FC vs Hyderabad FC	5:30 PM	Mumbai	5
October 28, Saturday	Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal	8:00 PM	Kolkata	5
October 29, Sunday	Chennaiyin FC vs Punjab FC	8:00 PM	Chennai	5
October 31, Tuesday	Odisha FC vs Bengaluru FC	8:00 PM	Bhubaneswar	6

Notable fixtures for the month of October

• The Boro game - The eternal derby between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will play the Kolkata Derby on the 28th of October, Saturday.
• A clash of giants - The top two teams from last season, Mumbai and Hyderabad will also face off on the very same day - 28th of October.
• Electric Southern Derby - Mumbai and Kerala will also play an exciting southern derby on the 8th.