Set-pieces key says Bozidar Bandovic, Pezzaiuoli upbeat about chances

The Marina Machans' tactician expressed happiness with his team's discipline and stability.

Chennaiyin FC will look to recover from a heavy defeat and get back to winning ways, when they take on struggling southern rivals Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Thursday. Chennaiyin's robust defence were put to the sword by high-flying Kerala Blasters who ran out 3-0 winners, leaving Bozidar Bandovic's wards sixth in the points table, with 11 points from seven matches.

In Bengaluru, Chennaiyin will know they have an opponent who are not very high on confidence after remaining winless in their last seven games. Languishing in 10th place, Marco Pezzaiuoli and Co. got off to a winning start this season, but since then haven't managed to muster a single victory, pocketing just six points from eight outings. They played out a dour 0-0 draw in their last game and once again lacked creativity in the final third.

Ahead of the clash, both teams' head coaches Bozidar Bandovic and Marco Pezzaiuoli spoke in the pre-match press conference:

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Chennaiyin FC head coach Bozidar Bandovic

Plans for the January transfer window

Bozidar Bandovic: First of all, I think it is not right to talk about the future. I work as if I’m going to stay at this club for the next five years and that is how I’m planning with the club. But, I could go tomorrow as well. In the next few days, the club will make announcements about all the things that we have discussed. What is important for me is that we prepare ourselves for the next game. 

Describing the season so far

Bozidar Bandovic: There have been surprises. I want my team to be stable. We have conceded goals and made mistakes, but the worse thing is to blame the players. It is a short league and to play after not doing it for many months is tough. Our team has shown stability and discipline on the pitch. I am very happy with my team and my players. They’ve given everything and have worked very hard. We have been together for the past four months and have gotten very close. The teams are very close.1-2 wins and you are back in the top, so it is going to be a big challenge till the end.

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Assessing Bengaluru FC as an opponent

Bozidar Bandovic: They are a very strong team. They are very dangerous in set-pieces. They have players who can score the goals. We are coming back from a defeat as well. It is going to be a tough game. For me, it is important that our players are ready. My players have been a team on and off the pitch, so I’m very happy with them. We had one week to recover and to think of everything to be ready for this game.

Bengaluru FC head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli

Mood in the camp right now

Marco Pezzaiuoli: It was a nice Christmas, as you might have seen on our social media how we celebrated our Christmas Eve. The mood is nice, it was good before and it’s good now. These events are a time to think about other things, other than football. We had a lot of time to train on some more tactics and we’ve prepared for tomorrow’s game against Chennaiyin FC.

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Team News

Marco Pezzaiuoli: Leon (Augustine) and Harmanpreet (Singh) are still not available. We have two more question marks in Udanta (Singh), who has a bit of soreness and (Yrondu Musavu-) King, who stepped out of training with a slight issue."

Thoughts on Chennayin FC

Marco Pezzaiuoli: We had two friendly games and both of them were tough games. They’ve had a bit more rest and I think that’s helped them get the speed and sharpness back. We need to be focused on ourselves. They played 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 and now playing a 3-5-2, but we need to focus on ourselves. Out of the game, we need to improve to create chances and score goals.

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