ISL 2023-24: Bottom-placed Chennaiyin FC travel to face fellow strugglers Hyderabad FC

Both teams are yet to register their first wins of the ISL 2023-24 season.

Hyderabad FC will welcome fellow strugglers Chennaiyin FC in the upcoming Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 fixture on Monday, 23 October 2023 at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Hyderabad. The situation is dire for both clubs in the ongoing season due to a disappointing start to the season. 

The Nizams, without Manolo Marquez and some key players, look a shadow of their former selves and have lost both of their opening games in the campaign. On the other hand, the Marina Machans are also waiting to win their first game of the season under Owen Coyle.

The outfits will be looking at the upcoming ISL contest as an opportunity to finally get their respective seasons up and running. Here is what to expect from the battle of the strugglers who have yet to put a point on board:

Stakes

Hyderabad FC is struggling. With no wins in their first two matches of the season, it is already an uphill battle for the side that has high ambitions. The last two seasons for HFC have been incredible, they won the ISL Trophy in 2021-22 and secured playoff qualification in 2022-23. However, losing their head coach to FC Goa and key players to other ISL teams has left the club weak and struggling to perform on the levels expected. Therefore, winning the upcoming game is vital for the outfit.

Chennaiyin FC aims to get back to winning ways and challenge for the ISL title after a few seasons of mediocrity. Signing Owen Coyle for a second stint at the club was an ambitious decision, one that has yet to yield good results. It is imperative that the club starts to pick up some points before the fans lose their patience and become hostile. The side has lost all of their three games in the ISL up to this point and must turn the fortunes around swiftly.

Team News

Head to Head

Total Matches Played - 8

Hyderabad FC wins - 3

Chennaiyin FC wins - 3

Draws - 2

Probable Lineups

Hyderabad FC (4-2-3-1)

Gurmeet Singh (GK), Nikhil Poojary, Chinglensana Singh, Nim Dorjee Tamang, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Joao Victor, Petteri Pennane, Mohammad Yasir, Felipe Amorim, Joseph Knowles, Aaren D'Silva

Chennaiyin FC (4-2-3-1)

Samik Mitra(GK), Aakash Sangwan, Lazar Cirkovic, Ryan Edwards, Bikash Yumnam, Ayush Adhikari, Cristian Battocchio, Ninthoi Meetei, Rafael Crivellaro, Farukh Chaudhary, Rahim Ali

Player to Watch

Petteri Pennanen (Hyderabad FC)

Petteri Pennanen is an exciting signing at Hyderabad FC. He has shown a lot of promise in his two appearances for the club in the ISL 2023-24. The midfielder loves to get on the ball and manipulate attacking moves. He finished the game against Jamshedpur FC with a 91% pass success rate.

It will be vital for HFC that Petteri Pennanen creates plenty of scoring chances for the forwards. In addition to his creativity, the midfielder loves to do the dirty work of winning the ball back. He made five tackles against JFC and won 10 duels during the game.

Samik Mitra (Chennaiyin FC)

A club is genuinely struggling in attack when its goalkeeper is the most outstanding player. In the first three fixtures, Samik Mitra has pulled off some impressive saves. Although he has conceded goals aplenty, the defence has not done enough to give him protection from waves of attacks from the opponents.

He has already made 10 saves in the season and is growing in confidence. Hyderabad FC will find it difficult to go past him and CFC needs their custodian to step up once again if the side is to secure any points from the game.

Did You Know?

• The last meeting between the sides was in the 2023 Durand Cup where the Marina Machans won by 3-1.
• Owen Coyle won the ISL Shield with Jamshedpur FC during the 2021-22 season.
• Petteri Pennanen has one international cap for Finland's senior national team.

Telecast

The live stream and broadcast of Hyderabad FC vs Chennaiyin FC will be available on the Jio Cinema app and Sports 18 channel respectively. The kick-off is at 8:00 PM IST.