ISL 2019-20 Fixtures unveiled, Kerala Blasters to host ATK in opener

The league stage of the campaign will end on 23rd February 2020.

The fixtures for Hero ISL 2019-20 have been released. The sixth edition of the competition kickstarts with two-time finalists Kerala Blasters FC playing host to two-time champions ATK in a traditional clash of the Titans on October 20. The second match on October 21 features defending champions Bengaluru FC kickstarting their title defence with a home fixture against NorthEast United FC. The enthralling footballing action will continue till February 23, which marks the completion of the 90 league phase matches. These will be followed by the semi-finals and the final, the fixtures for which will be released at a later date.

The first gameweek will feature the main game between defending champions Bengaluru FC and the previous season's semi-finalists NorthEast United. The other two semi-finalists, FC Goa and Mumbai City FC, will face Chennaiyin and Kerala on 23rd and 24th October respectively. While Jamshedpur will host Odisha FC on 22nd October.

All the matches will kick off at 7:30 PM IST, with a brief pause between 10th and 23rd November due to the international break. Here are ISL 2019-20 Fixtures:-

Coming into the sixth season, two of the ten ISL clubs are reported to be shifting their base, with the Dynamos moving to Bhubaneswar and FC Pune City likely going to Hyderabad. The reason for the absence of concrete information about the venues could be the reported move of cities by the clubs. Interestingly, Delhi are not scheduled to play a home game until 24th November.

One of the interesting parts of the schedule is that the season will be ending before the March 2019 international break, which will give plenty of time for the Indian national team to prepare for their games at the time.