Hyderabad FC to play opening ISL home match at Pune

Published at :September 27, 2022 at 11:54 PM

Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM

(Courtesy : HFC Media)

The club will return to its homeground in the second home game.

Indian Super League defending champions Hyderabad FC will be playing their opening home match against Mumbai City FC at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Sunday, October 09, 2022, due to the ongoing renovation work on the pitch at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Gachibowli, Hyderabad.

Keeping player safety a priority, the club in consultation with the league has taken the decision to shift the first game to the alternate venue.

Hyderabad FC will be back in action at the Gachibowli Stadium for their second home match, slated against Bengaluru FC on Saturday, October 22 in Matchweek 3.

Hyderabad FC's pre-season preparations

The Nizams have been successful in retaining most of their core prior to the upcoming Indian Super League season. An important departure was that of Asish Rai who joined ATK Mohun Bagan on a long-term deal. Apart from him, most of the squad remains the same. Aniket Jadhav remains to be another player, who has left the club to join East Bengal after the Kolkata giants paid a transfer fee to Hyderabad FC. Young right-back Soyal Joshy who played scintillating football in the Santosh Trophy for Kerala has been roped in by the management. The club has also acquired the services of versatile Spaniard Borja Herrera.

Hyderabad FC performed well in the Durand Cup. They ended as Group C toppers with nine points (three wins and a loss). The club defeated I-League side Rajasthan United in the quarter-finals of the competition. Up next were Bengaluru FC. The stakes were high, but unfortunately the Nizams suffered a narrow defeat.

With another Indian Super League season starting in a few days, Manolo Marquez's side can be tagged as one of the favourites to lift the title this year too! Their exploits from the past two seasons have paid dividends. They are currently the only ISL club whose head coach is continuing from the previous two seasons. Other clubs have seen changes at the helm in the same period.