Cesar Ferrando not underestimating Chennaiyin, John Gregory confident of his side

The Men of Steel will look forward to keep their playoffs push on track with three points against the defending champions.

Jamshedpur FC host Chennaiyin FC on Sunday, 25th of November as the Men of Steel look to make amends for their poor defeat against Pune in their last match. While Chennai would like to maintain their momentum by getting a back to back win after getting their first win of the season against Pune, the feat would be a giant task for the Marina Machans.

The coaches of both the teams met the media before their clash for the pre-match press conference.

Coach’s Corner

John Gregory (Chennaiyin FC)

The interaction started with John Gregory being questioned about the impact of the long international break upon the team. “Four of our players went to represent the national team during the international break, it was a tough situation for us and there’s always a concern of injuries but thankfully there weren’t any," he started.

"The long gap in between does take the momentum out but our players even on break trained and kept their shape and maintained their fitness so that’s something which doesn’t bother me much and I am now looking forward to tomorrow’s game," Gregory added.

On being asked to express his thoughts on the Pune victory the Chennaiyin coach opined, “Prior to the Pune victory also, we were playing very well, we had plenty of possession and outclassed the opponents on that particular department."

"But it was due to the fact of silly errors made at the back that we were losing games and most of them were by a narrow margin. After the Pune victory we are much more confident now and are hoping for a very good game tomorrow”, he added.

The Englishman was asked about his opponents on Sunday evening when he answered,” Jamshedpur are a better team now than they were 12 months before. Cesar has a made good team and has got in very good players and they play a possession-based game."

"I personally think we are weaker than last season on terms of team strength, and Jamshedpur are stronger so it will be a difficult game for us and we need to give in our best to have a good outcome from the match tomorrow”, the English tactician quipped.

He added, “Tomorrow’s game is very important for us as we cannot afford any more slip-ups, the way other teams in the league are performing there’s not a moment for breath for anyone and you need to be consistent in this league in order to have a good campaign at the end of the season.”

Cesar Ferrando (Jamshedpur FC)

The Jamshedpur FC head coach was first asked to express his views on his opponents whom he will be facing on Sunday evening. “We are playing against a very good team tomorrow, and we will be playing tomorrow at home in front of our fans so we would be going out in search of all the three points”, he started.

On being questioned about Cidocnha’s absence in the last game, ”Cidoncha is at Madrid, he has an ACL injury and will be back after the winter break. It’s definitely a big blow for us but Soosairaj, Calvo, Morgado can play at his position," the Spaniard quipped.

“Last match we tried Calvo in the position which Cidoncha played (the number-10 role) and he had a good game. Tomorrow we may start him again or try someone else at his position," Ferrando added.

Chennai will be playing after a long gap and Cesar Ferrando seemed puzzled whether that’s something which is beneficial to Jamshedpur or not. ”The long gap whether its beneficial or harmful for the team depends upon the team and their coach," he said before adding, "for some they like to play continuous games. For others, they like to have games after an interval."

"Personally for me as a coach I like to have continuous games so that my team can have a good momentum and use the confidence of winning or the experience from losing from one match to the next in quick succession," he concluded.

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Team News

Jamshedpur FC

Sergio Cidocha is out with an ACL injury and would be back only after the winter break. Apart from Cidoncha, Gourav Mukhi is unavailable for selection as he is facing disciplinary actions from the AIFF. Dhanachandra Singh will also be among the absentees for his injury.

Chennaiyin FC

The Marina Machans do not have any major injury concerns apart from Dhanpal Ganesh.

Probable Line-Ups

Jamshedpur FC– S.Pal (GK), Gurung, Tiri, Pratik, Jairu, Memo, Mario, Soosairaj, Jerry, Calvo, Cahill

Chennaiyin FC- K.Singh (GK), Calderon, Mailson, Sabia, Lalrinzuala, Singh, Thapa, Fernandes, Augusto, Nelson, Jeje

Did You Know?

• The previous matches for the two teams saw a couple of firsts for the respective teams this season. For Jamshedpur FC, it was their first loss of the season and for Chennai, it was an all-important first win of the season.

• Jamshedpur FC and Chennaiyin FC have made 110 crosses this season, the joint highest in the league.

• In their opening seven matches, Chennaiyin FC have collected just four points- their lowest in their five years of existence.

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Broadcast

The match will take place at 7:30 PM at the JRD TATA Sports Complex in Jamshedpur on Sunday. On television, the match will be live on Star Sports. Meanwhile, it will also be streamed on Hotstar and Jio TV.