Jesus Tato: We are going to face one of the best teams in the ISL

The Spaniard is confident that his side will come away with three points against the defending champions.

FC Goa will face Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Friday night. Ahead of the game, Gaurs' coach Jesus Tato and captain Mandar Rao Desai addressed media personnel in the pre-match press conference. Jesus Tato said, “We are going to face one of the best teams in the ISL; everybody knows the former champions, and it’s a big match for us." [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] “But, in that situation, right now, I think the big pressure is for them. We have five points of difference. At the beginning of the season, they wanted to reach the final of the season and also get the first spot to the AFC Champions League qualification, but now there is a difference of five points." Jesus Tato went on to add, “We have a big gap and we can go to Bengaluru full of confidence to keep going with our style. If we get the three points, the gap will become bigger to eight points. So, I think the big, big pressure is on them. We have to go with the same attitude, the same philosophy and we have to get three points back tomorrow.” Ahmed Jahouh scored the first goal of his ISL career in Goa’s previous match and Tato was asked about the midfielder's performance. He replied, “It’s a big surprise, after 46 matches I think. But, he deserved it because he works a lot for the team, not for himself you know.” He further spoke on the technical aspect of Jahouh’s goal by stating, “In the last game, he arrived very good from behind with good pressure to score the goal. I am very happy for him, very happy for the team because finally we only won with one goal difference and this goal became important.” [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Mandar was later asked about Bengaluru FC and how he viewed them as an opposition. He remarked, “Yes, not only in the ISL but also in the I-League, I think they were doing good. They won some trophies. Obviously, when we are going out for this game, not only the players but also the staff work very hard to keep all the players motivated." “As the coach said before, they are under pressure, as they sit third on the table and we are five points up. I think, if we win this game there will be good points difference and that will motivate us more to be on the top of the table.”

Team News

Jackichand Singh was an injury scare ahead of Goa's match against Chennaiyin, but he ended up in the starting XI. So, that ensures that the team are without any major fitness issues for the time being.

Head-To-Head

Bengaluru FC have been dominant over FC Goa, which is visible through their past meetings. Both these sides have met each other six times and BFC have emerged victorious in four of those games. Goa won one match, while the other game ended in a draw. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Predicted Lineup

Nawaz; Seriton, Fall, Pena, Mandar; Lenny, Jahouh, Boumous; Brandon, Jackichand, Corominas.

Broadcast

The game will commence from 7:30 PM IST, Friday. It will be telecast live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD. It will also be available to stream on Hotstar and Jio TV.