Preview: Jamshedpur eye top spot against hapless Chennaiyin FC

The Men of Steel are winless in six matches against the Marina Mahcnas.

There will be no shortage of confidence when Jamshedpur FC take on Chennaiyin FC with their eyes firmly locked on the top of the table and keeping their neighbours on their toes, in the Indian Super League at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Sunday.

Jamshedpur are third in the points table having 28 points from 15 games, one behind table-toppers Hyderabad FC and second-placed ATK Mohun Bagan, both of whom play on Saturday. Hyderabad have played a game more while ATKMB are level on the number of games played with Jamshedpur.

The Owen Coyle-coached side have won their last two fixtures and will be gunning for a hat-trick of wins against a ragged Chennaiyin side who have not won a match in their last five engagements.

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The Stakes

Chennaiyin FC

Chennaiyin played under interim boss Sabir Pasha for the first time in their last game, eking out a 2-2 draw against Odisha FC, meaning their semifinal hopes are all but over.

"The boys showed character in the last game. It is always difficult after conceding five goals and then to comeback after going down by two goals. They have to carry the momentum forward. it will be a tough match and in three days. But the boys will give a real fight," said Pasha ahead of the game.

"Jamshedpur are a very good side, both in attack and defence. We need to improve our game against them. They have some dangerous players who can hurt us," he added when asked about the opponents on the morrow.

Jamshedpur FC

Jamshedpur are on the cusp of making the semifinals for the first time in their ISL history. The Red Miners are well placed to make the cut after winning five of their last six matches and would want to further assert their dominance with a win against Chennaiyin.

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Greg Stewart has found his goalscoring boots, scoring a brace in a row in the last two games. Daniel Chima Chukwu also provided an assist to add to his three goals in three games since joining them and together the duo have shown fine form. Ritwik Das has also flourished under Coyle and with Peter Hartley and Eli Sabia in defence, the team is looking like one of the hot contenders this season. The last time two sides met, Chennaiyin won by 1-0.

Team News

Chennaiyin FC are still without centre-back Sajid Dhot, who is out with a hamstring pull. Interim coach Sabir Pasha will, however, have a full fit squad available for this match. For Jamshedpur FC Komal Thatal is not fit yet to play a game, while Farukh Choudhary was ruled out long before the season started.

Head-to-Head

Chennaiyin FC and Jamshedpur FC have faced each other nine times in ISL history and the Marina Machans lead the h2h records with four wins. The Men of Steel have won two, while the remaining three games have ended in stalemate.

In recent times though, Jamshedpur FC have won only once in their last six matches against Chennaiyin FC. They were also beaten when these teams last squared earlier this season.

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Probable Lineups

Chennaiyin FC: Debjit Majumder (GK); Deepak Devrani, Slavko Damjanovic, Narayan Das; Ninthoi Meetei, Ariel Borysiuk, Anirudh Thapa (C), Vladimir Koman, Edwin Vanspaul; Rahim Ali, Nerijus Valskis.

Jamshedpur FC: TP Rehenesh (GK); Laldinliana Renthlei, Eli Sabia, Peter Hartley (C), Ricky Lallawmawma; Boris Singh, Jitendra Singh, Pronay Halder, Ritwik Das; Greg Stewart, Daniel Chima.

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Did You Know?

• Chennaiyin FC are 2 goals away from reaching the 200 goals scored milestone in the ISL. They will become the 2nd team to reach this milestone after FC Goa.
• Jamshedpur have scored the joint-most goals from set pieces this season (17) while Chennaiyin have scored the joint-fewest goals from set pieces so far (7).
• Jamshedpur need to score 3 more goals to equal their best ever goals return in a single ISL season. They scored the 29 goals in the 2018-19 season.
• Greg Stewart needs 1 more goal and 1 more assist to become the joint-highest goal scorer and assist provider for Jamshedpur in the ISL. He currently has 9 goals and 6 assists for the club.
• Jamshedpur players have won the most Hero of the Match awards this season, the most by a team this season.

Telecast

Match No. 96 between Chennaiyin FC and Jamshedpur FC will be played at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco. The kick-off time is at 07:30 pm IST on Sunday. Star Sports will live telecast the match, while Disney+ Hotstar and JIO TV will be live streaming it online.

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