Josep Gombau: We have to play every game hereon like a final

The Spaniard is wary of the opponents who will play their first game under a new coach.

Odisha FC aims to keep a tight grip onto the fourth spot in the Indian Super League (ISL) when they travel to face a struggling Hyderabad FC side on Wednesday. With Albert Roca being named as Hyderabad’s new head coach following Phil Brown’s departure, Josep Gombau and Co must be wary of the threat they’ll bring under the gaffer who knows Indian football very well. [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS]

Coach’s Corner

Josep Gombau agreed that the Hyderabad FC players will be rejuvenated to put in better performances to improve their coach and it’ll be a unique challenge for his side. He said, “They have a new coach coming in and he might not be on the bench tomorrow, but whenever a new coach comes in, the players are motivated to do better as they want to prove themselves to him.” “We’ll try to play our natural game and try to dominate the opponent. But I’m pretty sure it’ll be a challenging game for us as the Hyderabad players will work harder to prove their mettle to their new coach," he further expressed. Odisha FC might be in the top four currently, but Mumbai City FC and Kerala Blasters are right behind them. The Spaniard insisted that he’s taking things one game at a time and his players must consider every game as if it’s a grand occasion to prevail. “First of all, what’s important for us is to take it one game at a time. We’re trying to do our best in every single game. After that where we’ll finish, we’ll see. I don’t want to put my players under pressure. We have a very young squad," stated Josep Gombau. [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] “I’m proud of what they’ve achieved. At one point we were very far away from a playoff spot but now we’re in close reach of it. We have six more games to go and we have to play every game like a final. We’ll try to win every single game to achieve a playoffs spot," he added. Josep Gombau also shrugged off any claims of them having an advantage despite defeating Hyderabad earlier this season. Expressing how his side must put in a hard shift to get the win he said, “It’s an important game for us. We want to do something nice and try to win as many games as possible. We know it’s not easy to win games as every game in the ISL is very difficult. Tomorrow, I think we need to run more and put in an extra effort in order to win.” Jerry Mawihmingthanga also spoke upon how the team’s bond has improved as the season has progressed and on the atmosphere in the dressing room. He explained, “Since the pre-season, the team is gelling together really well. We have an amazing team spirit. We had problems early on, but we stuck together as a team, we learned from our mistakes and improved." “Even the senior players have played their part in motivating the team. The ups and downs, they happen. But right now, the team is feeling good and we’ll try to improve even more going forward," he added. [KH_ADWORDS type="2" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS]

Team News

Odisha FC have no injury or suspension issues currently and are heading into the game with a fully fit squad.

Head-To-Head

These two sides have only faced-off against each other once, with Odisha FC winning the reverse fixture 3-2 last month. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Predicted XI

Dorronsoro (GK), Sarangi, Delgado, Bora, Das, Rai, Tebar, Jerry, Xisco, Nandha, Aridane

Broadcast

The game will take place at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday. It will be telecast live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD. It will also be available to stream on Hotstar and Jio TV.