Preview: Odisha FC take on in-form Kerala Blasters in important clash

The Yellow Army are on a nine-game unbeaten run, the best in the league this season.

A resurgent Odisha FC will have their task cut out against in-form Kerala Blasters when the two sides meet in Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Wednesday.

Odisha downed Mumbai City FC in their last outing to get back to winning ways after a spell of underwhelming performances. The Kiko Ramirez-coached side looked sharp in attack and also held firm when they needed to at the back in a high-scoring encounter. They now find themselves eighth in the points table having 13 points from nine games.

In Kerala, Odisha will have an opponent who are brimming with confidence after making it to the top of the table for the first time in seven years. They beat Hyderabad FC in their last game to extend their winning run to nine games, finishing the first half of the season in the best way possible.

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Kerala Blasters' Head Coach Ivan Vukomanovic feels his side has the quality to usurp any challenge put in front. "From the beginning, we've believed that we've got the quality to beat anybody. And we've seen so far the favorites cannot win the so-called easy games. We have a good team and we believe that we can build good momentum," said the Serbian tactician.

Alvaro Vazquez has continued to fire for Kerala, netting his fourth goal of the campaign in the last game. Adrian Luna is another player who has enjoyed a rich vein of form and Vukomanovic would hope the duo keep going.

Captain Jessel Carneiro is set to face a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury. There are doubts over Harmanjot Singh Khabra's participation in the match as well. Full back Nishu Kumar is almost certain to feature from the start.

For Odisha, skipper Jerry Mawihmingthanga has sharpened their arsenal. He scored two goals and provided one assist in Odisha’s 4-2 win over Mumbai City and has looked extremely impressive. However, Odisha's concern would be their leaky backline. They have conceded 22 goals in their 9 games and have the joint-worst defensive record in the league along with NorthEast United.

Head Coach Kiko Ramirez is cognizant of the threat Kerala Blasters pose. "They have things going their way now and we realise they are experiencing a good run of form. Our boys are working hard to put up a challenge but we need to understand the three foreign attackers (Alvaro Vazquez, Adrian Luna, and Jorge Pereyra Diaz) they have are in a rich vein of form," said Ramirez.

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The match could be a high-scoring one as both Kerala and Odisha like to score goals. In the first leg, Kerala edged past Odisha 2-1 and all three goals came from open play.

Team News

Odisha FC Kiko Ramirez stated in his pre-match press conference that while some players had a few issues during the week, almost all the players are available for selection. Meanwhile, for Kerala Blasters, Rahul KP, Albino Gomes and Jeakson Singh have been ruled out because of injuries. All the others are available to Ivan Vukomanovic for selection.

Predicted XI

Odisha FC: Kamaljit Singh; Hendry Antonay, Gaurav Bora, Victor Mongil, Sahil Panwar; Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Thoiba Singh, Liridon Krasniqi, Nandhakumar Sekar; Javi Hernandez, Jonathas de Jesus.

Kerala Blasters: Prabhsukhan Singh Gill (GK); Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Marko Leskovic, Ruivah Hormipam, Denechandra Meitei; Sahal Abdul Samad, Jeakson Singh, Lalthathanga ‘Puitea’ Khawlhring, Adrian Luna; Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Alvaro Vazquez.

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Did you know?

• Kerala Blasters have the most number of clean sheets this season (4).
• Odisha FC has the best home record and the worst away record in this season's ISL.
• Adrian Luna has created the most number of big chances in the league this season (7).

Telecast

The match between Odisha FC and Kerala Blasters will be held at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco, Goa on Wednesday, January 12. The kick-off is set for 7:30 pm IST. The match will be telecast LIVE on the Star Sports Network and is available for streaming LIVE in the Disney+Hotstar platform and the JioTV app.

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