ISL 2023-24: East Bengal vs Chennaiyin FC: Preview, Predicted lineup, injury news, H2H, telecast details

East Bengal have never won against Chennaiyin FC in ISL.

East Bengal aims to shake off their recent bitter loss to Jamshedpur FC and reassert their Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 playoff ambitions when they host Chennaiyin FC at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Monday.

Incidentally, the Marina Machans are also hanging onto the race for that coveted sixth spot in the ISL – meaning this will be another intense, hard-fought battle between two ISL teams desperate for a win.

The Stakes

East Bengal

Carles Cuadrat’s side suffered a disappointing defeat to Jamshedpur FC, which has impacted their chance of getting into the top-6, but not totally eliminate them from the play-offs race. With seven games remaining, East Bengal still have a chance to get to that sixth spot as they have played two games fewer than Jamshedpur FC.

However, The Red & Gold Brigaders have to treat their last seven league games like must-win finals themselves. That means the players need to absolutely work their socks off and have to be willing to outdo their opponents in every aspect. The East Bengal players absolutely needs to do that to defeat Chennaiyin FC and regain confidence in their top-6 hopes. However, another loss can be especially damning and move them quite far away from the playoffs race – while a draw can drag them back as well.

Chennaiyin FC

Despite their recent setback against Mumbai City, Chennaiyin FC also have a statistical possibility of making the ISL playoffs. But like East Bengal, they need to bring their absolute best form in the final stretch of the league campaign to do so. Owen Coyle’s side has had a really topsy-turvy campaign, having troubles in scoring goals.

They’ve actually only won one away game this season, but have also held Kerala Blasters and Jamshedpur FC to draws in away encounters. Chennaiyin will need to produce their best away performance of the season to outdo this rigid East Bengal side, further adding to their dismay and moving over them in the table. A draw might not be the worst result either, but a loss can make it gigantic challenge for the two-time ISL champions to get to that sixth spot.

Injury and Team News

East Bengal are still likely to miss Harmanjot Khabra, while Saul Crespo is still working on recovering from his injury. Chennaiyin FC are not facing any injury issues right now.

Head-to-Head

Matches Played – 7

East Bengal wins – 0

Chennaiyin FC wins – 2

Draws – 5

Probable Lineups

East Bengal (4-2-3-1)

Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Nishu Kumar, Hijazi Maher, Aleksander Pantic, Mandar Rao Dessai, Sauvik Chakraborty, Ajay Chhetri, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Victor Vazquez, Nandhakumar Sekar, Cleiton Silva

Chennaiyin FC (4-2-3-1)

Debjit Majumder (GK), Sarthak Golui, Ryan Edwards, Lazar Cirkovic, Aakash Sangwan, Ayush Adhikari, Connor Shields, Farukh Choudhary, Rafael Crivellaro, Ninthoinganba Meetei, Rahim Ali

Players to Watch

Cleiton Silva (East Bengal)

Being the East Bengal captain, Cleiton Silva is the man who has to rise to the occasion and turn up with a commanding performance to reinvigorate the spirits of his squad. The Red & Gold Brigaders’ top scorer with seven ISL goals this season, five of those goals have come in home games.

Cleiton has to rediscover his magic and swagger at the Salt Lake Stadium and look to cause trouble to the Chennaiyin FC backline with his smart movement, link-up play and awareness. He needs to take whatever chances comes his way ruthlessly and put away chances efficiently to significantly improve East Bengal’s chances of getting a big win and getting their playoffs ambitions back on track.

Rafael Crivellaro (Chennaiyin FC)

Rafael Crivellaro has been a driving force in Chennaiyin FC’s attack and contributed a major amount of their total goals. With three goals and five assists, he’s been responsible for almost 50% of their goals so far. The 35-year-old Brazilian is still going strong and will need to be at his decisive best to torment the Red & Gold Brigaders.

Crivellaro will aim to move in between the empty pockets of spaces in the opposition half and play his teammates through on goal with clever passes. He’ll also look to make good use of his set-piece prowess to create more chances, and also possibly sneak into more goal-scoring positions to torment Prabhsukhan Gill and enhance his side’s goal-scoring chances.

Did you know?

• East Bengal have conceded only six goals in eight home games in the ISL so far this season.
• No other player has produced more assists in the ISL this season than Rafael Crivellaro (5).
• Prabhsukhan Gill has kept the second-most clean sheets (6) in the ISL this season – only one from current Golden Glove favourite Arshdeep Singh.

Telecast

The East Bengal vs Chennaiyin FC game kicks off at 7:30 PM IST, at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Monday, February 26, 2024. Live telecast of the fixture will be available on the Sports18 Network (Sports18 1/VH1 channel). Live streaming of the game will be available on the JioCinema app. Viewers from abroad can use OneFootball to stream the game.

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