Preview: Hyderabad look for maiden ISL win over Jamshedpur FC

Both teams arrive on the back of wins over heavyweights Mumbai City and FC Goa respectively.

Jamshedpur FC and Hyderabad FC will hope to convert the emphatic victories from their respective previous matches into winning runs when they clash at the GMA Athletic Stadium in Bambolim on Thursday. Both teams returned to the winning ways in their previous game after beginning their league campaign without a victory. Both sides are now looking to extend their impressive performance in the previous game to one more.

Both teams also follow a similar philosophy with a focus on making squads around young Indian talents and impact-making foreigners. The proof is in that their last three meetings have yielded only draws, the last of them a goalless stalemate. Hyderabad and Jamshedpur FC are also among the outside favourites to make the playoffs this season after both missed out narrowly in the previous campaign, the former by just two points.

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The Stakes

A win here would elevate the prospect of either as a playoffs contender. They both arrive on the back of a solid win against two teams that made the playoffs last season at their expense. Owen Coyle and Manolo Marquez's men are also quite on the same path after two matches.

Hyderabad FC started their season with a narrow defeat to Chennaiyin FC. They dominated the game for major periods, had more shots on target, better scoring chances. But ended up on the wrong side. Quite similarly, Jamshedpur FC dominated against SC East Bengal, but had to stay content with a single point.

Both turned up in style in their next game with identical wins. Manolo Marquez's men decimated FC Goa with a 3-1 win before the Nizams repeated the feat against defending champions Mumbai City FC. After an underwhelming opening fixture, their strikers rediscovered their form and found the back of the nets while substitutes came off the bench and killed the game.

However, they are separated by four positions on the points table, albeit with only a single point gap. Jamshedpur FC, thanks to their unbeaten start are fourth in the table. A win will take them to the top, although they will have played a game more than ATK Mohun Bagan, Odisha FC and Chennaiyin FC, who have a clean slate after two matches. Hyderabad FC are at the seventh spot, but depending on how many goals they score, the Nizams also have a chance to enter top four.

Team News

Halicharan Narzary is out with a knee injury. But apart from that, Marquez has a fit and available Hyderabad FC squad for this clash.

Jamshedpur FC are already missing Farukh Choudhury, who is out for the season after undergoing surgery on his knee. Jordan Murray and Greg Stewart are yet to fully recover from their respective niggles but are available.

Head-to-Head

Hyderabad FC and Jamshedpur FC have met each other on four occasions, three of which turned out to be draws. The Men of Steel won the only remaining meeting 3-1, in what was their first ISL clash. The last meeting between these two ended goalless while the previous two were 1-1 draws.

Hyderabad FC are yet to register a win over Jamshedpur in the ISL.

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Probable Lineups

Jamshedpur FC: Rehenesh TP (GK); Laldinliana Renthlei, Narender Gahlot, Peter Hartley, Ricky Lallawmawma; Jitendra Singh, Alex Lima; Seiminlen Doungel, Komal Thatal, Greg Stewart; Nerijus Valskis.

Hyderabad FC: Laxmikant Kattimani (GK); Asish Rai, Chinglensana Singh, Juanan, Akash Mishra; Aniket Jadhav, Hitesh Sharma, Joao Victor, Mohammad Yasir, Joel Chianese, Bartholomew Ogbeche.

Man To Watch

Greg Stewart (Jamshedpur FC)

A former Rangers midfielder, Stewart showed what he can do with the ball with two assists in the 3-1 win over FC Goa. Struggling with a problem in his thighs, Stewart played only 13 minutes in Jamshedpur's season opener. But against Goa, he started the game and created four goalscoring chances.

The 31-year-old's connection with Nerijus Valskis, who was at the end of both of Stewart's assists, looked special and would only grow with each game. The Scot is yet to fully recover, but when he does we can certainly hope for more assists and maybe some goals.

Joao Victor (Hyderabad FC)

The Hyderabad FC captain does the dirty work for his side, cleaning up opposition attacks, intercepting balls before they turn dangerous and also taking the game into the opposition half with his ball-playing skills. He also scored the penalty that helped Hyderabad equalise against Mumbai City FC in a 3-1 win.

Victor's commanding presence in the middle of the park helps Hyderabad FC play free-flowing football. The Brazilian is almost always at the right position to intercept and stop opposition attacks and counters.

He will be kept busy by Jamshedpur FC, who have Greg Stewart and Nerijus Valskis, Komal Thatal, Alex Lima and also Jordan Murray in their ranks.

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Did you know?

• Nerijus Valskis has attempted most shots (9) and also has joint-most shots on target (5) in this ISL.
• Hitesh Sharma has made most fouls (7) in ISL 2021-22.
• Aniket Jadhav has scored only two goals in 28 matches in the ISL. One of them have come against Hyderabad FC.

Telecast

The match between Hyderabad FC and Jamshedpur FC will be played at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim on December 2 from 7:30 pm IST. It will be shown LIVE on Star Sports 2 & Star Sports 2 HD and will also be available for live streaming on Disney+Hotstar and JioTV.

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