Robert Jarni: I am expecting a win over Kerala Blaster

The Croatian also feels his side should not have drawn against the southerners in the reverse fixture.

The Indian Super League returns to Guwahati after a gap of more than a month with NorthEast United facing Kerala Blasters at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium on Friday. Ahead of the match, head coach Robert Jarni interacted in the pre-match press conference.

The Highlanders' campaign have been disappointing, to say the least. An unfortunate series of performances since December have forced them sit at the ninth position in the table. Speaking on his side's season, Robert Jarni said, “We had a lot of ups and downs, in the first part we played really excellent and we were also very unlucky in some matches where we lost from late goals.”

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“We then had problems with our attacking options with Maxi (Barriero) and Pana (Triadis) leaving and most importantly Asamoah (Gyan) who had to quit because of a serious injury,” he added.

The Croatian also spoke regarding his side's goalless run of four games. “In the last four matches also, we have been playing well but we haven’t found a way to score which has been a huge problem for us. I have no complaints from the players who have given their all in the last games and in every training session they are doing a great job,” Robert Jarni said.

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With just five games remaining to the ongoing season and the playoffs a distant dream, the Highlanders would need to finish on a high to salvage something from this dismal season. Robert Jarni feels his players have it in them to win the game on Friday night.

“I am hoping so because in the last couple of training sessions the boys are doing good things, so I am expecting that we can win the game tomorrow. Our opponent tomorrow also lost in their last game so they will be wanting to make up for that so we need to be ready.”

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Robert Jarni was asked if his predecessor at NorthEast United, Eelco Schattorie, has any advantage from his knowledge of the hosts. “He knew about us too when we met earlier this season and we shouldn’t have drawn that day as we were the better side. Our players will show who the better prepared side tomorrow is,” he concluded.

Team News

Robert Jarni has an almost full squad to choose from - barring Puitea, who is nursing a ankle injury.

Head To Head

Kerala Blasters have had the edge over NorthEast United in their history. The southerners have won five games out of a possible 11 matches, comparted to the Highlanders' three. The rest of the three games finished as draws.

Predicted Lineup

Subhasish (GK), Reagan, Komorski, Heerings, Lakra, Lalengmawia, Leudo, Gallego, Ninthoi, Redeem, Keogh

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.