Delhi host Kerala with Final spot at stake

The winner will meet Atletico de Kolkata in the showpiece…

Delhi Dynamos will be looking to make the most of home advantage when they host Kerala Blasters in the Second Leg of their Indian Super League playoff to be played at the capital’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday. Blasters hold a slender 1-0 advantage on aggregate going into the game.

It was a tight clash in Kochi last time in which Kervens Belfort gave his team the edge with a well taken solo goal in the second half. The Dynamos are looking to make their first ISL Final, while if the Blasters make it through this will be their second appearance in the showpiece in three years. The two teams will battle it out for the right to play Atletico de Kolkata in Kochi on Sunday.

Team News

The hosts have a fully fit squad to pick from and it will be interesting to see if manager Gianluca Zambrotta tinkers with the combination that he played at the weekend.

Blasters have come into their own in the second half of the season and will be looking to put in the consummate away performance as they look to hold on to their advantage. They too have a fully fit squad to pick from ahead of this crunch clash.

Head-to-Head

Games between these two teams have been tight with two wins each and three draws in their seven matches so far. The first meeting this season in Kochi ended in a 0-0 draw while Delhi won the reverse fixture 2-0

Man to Watch

Marcelinho-Delhi Dynamos: The winger had a quiet nigh on Sunday, but with nine goals this season he leads the race for the Golden Boot and remains one of Delhi’s biggest aces. The Lions will once again look to the Brazilian to drive the attack as they seek to maintain a formidable home record that has seen them become the only team to be unbeaten on home soil with three wins and four draws in their seven games so far.

Cedric Hengbart-Kerala Blasters: The Frenchman has been one of the standout players of ISL 3 and was one of the key architects of his team’s win at the weekend. The centre-back has gained a reputation for his crunching tackles, impeccable positional sense and leadership qualities at the back. All these attributes will be vital to Blasters’ success against free-scoring Dynamos.

Probable Line-ups

Kerala Blasters: (4-4-1-1) Stack, Jhingan, Hughes, Hengbart, Anto, Ahmed, Nazon, Mahamat, Vineeth, Belfort, Rafi.

Delhi Dynamos: (4-3-3) Santana, Lalchhawnkima, Rocha, Edathodika, C'kraborty, Milan, Tébar, Malouda, Pereira, Gadze.

Broadcast

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

The match will be telecast live on Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD1, Star Gold, Star Gold HD, Jalsha Movies, Jalsha Movies HD, and Hotstar. You can also follow live commentary on Khel Now website by our ISL correspondent.