Preview: Can India make a comeback against Sri Lanka at SAFF Championship?

The Golden Army lost to Bangladesh in their tournament opener.

After a dismal start to their SAFF Championship 2021 campaign, India will look to bounce back against Sri Lanka on Thursday. The Blue Tigers played out a disappointing draw against Bangladesh in their campaign opener and will aim to get their first win of the competition on Thursday.

Ranked 205th, Sri Lanka are nearly 100 places behind India in the FIFA Rankings. On paper, at least, the difference in quality is huge. But Igor Stimac’s side have not been the most convincing playing against lower-ranked nations. The Blue Tigers must produce a more clinical performance against Sri Lanka and control the game properly to get the big win everyone expects.

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India vs Sri Lanka: The Stakes

India hit the rock bottom by drawing against a 10-man Bangladesh side on Sunday. The Blue Tigers put on a lethargic display which raises questions on whether or not the team is actually moving forward under Igor Stimac.

Not being able to defeat Sri Lanka will flare up those questions even further. A lot rides on this game when it comes to maintaining the reputation of the team. The Blue Tigers have to produce ruthless attacking football and score many goals to get back the admiration of the fans.

Being unable to get a win not only risk more furious reactions, but will also raise questions about India’s chances of winning the SAFF Championship. The Blue Tigers have to win the remaining games to have the chance of finishing the group stages in the first place. Drawing or losing to Sri Lanka can greatly reduce those chances.

Sri Lanka really do not have much to lose in this one. There aren’t any major expectations from them and they’re going into the game as the underdogs. But seeing India struggle against a 10-man Bangladesh side – who defeated them by the margin of only 1-0 – could give the Golden Army a shot of confidence.

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While they will go with a more defensive approach, Sri Lanka should now look to take the fight to India. They will be aiming to move the ball forward quickly knowing how shaky the Indian backline looks. There will not be many expectations from them in this, but Sri Lanka could pull off a shocker if India’s performance doesn’t improve from the last game.

Team News

India has a fully fit squad for the game as they didn’t suffer any injury issues during or after the Bangladesh draw, till the time of writing.

Sri Lanka should have defender Duckson Puslas back for this game after he served out his suspension in the loss to Nepal. However, Chamod Dilshan will miss out due to a suspension. He picked up a yellow card each in both the matches he played so far in the SAFF Championship.

India Vs Sri Lanka: Probable Lineups

India XI: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Seriton Fernandes, Pritam Kotal, Chinglensana Singh, Subhasish Bose, Glan Martins, Lalengmawia, Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh.

Sri Lanka XI: Sujan Perera (GK), Jude Supan, Duckson Puslas, Harsha Fernando, Migala Chalana Chameera, Charitha Mudiyanselage, Marvin Hamilton, Ahmed Razeek, Kavindhu Ishan, Dillon De Silva, Mohamed Aakib.

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Player to Watch

Udanta Singh (India)

The speedster was one of India’s better performers against Bangladesh and looked pretty good on both wings. He even set up the goal for Sunil Chhetri with an impressive cut-back, showing signs of his old self.

The Bengaluru FC winger will be determined to keep up his impressive run of form against Sri Lanka. He’ll look to make those clever runs behind the defence, make good use of his pace to torment the defenders. Singh can be a menace when in form, so he’ll look to do just that and help create some big chances for the Blue Tigers on Thursday.

Dillon De Silva (Sri Lanka)

A graduate of the Tottenham Hotspur youth academy, Dillon De Silva only recently opted to play for Sri Lanka. The 19-year-old winger has very impressive in their last game against Nepal, even scoring his first-ever goal for Sri Lanka.

The exciting winger will probably fancy himself against India’s shaky backline and look to work around magic in the final third. With his impressive pace, dribbling ability and eye for goal, De Silva will probably be the Golden Army’s biggest attacking threat. If India aren’t careful enough, the youngster can run riot and help Sri Lanka pull off a shocking result.

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Did you know?

• India have won all their last four competitive games against Sri Lanka, having scored at least two goals in them.
• Sri Lanka has non-residential players in their squad in Dillon De Silva and Marvin Hamilton, who were both born and brought up in England.
• Sri Lanka are winless against India for 21 years. The last time Sri Lanka won a game against India was back in May 2000, when they picked up a narrow 1-0 win in a Golden Jubilee Tournament match.

Telecast

The match will take place at the National Stadium, Male on Thursday, October 7 at 4:30 PM IST. It will be shown LIVE on Eurosport, Eurosport HD and be available to stream on Jio TV and Discovery+.

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