Kerala have not lost a game since they beat Mumbai City FC Blasters in their last match in October.
The focus will be on Laliansuwala Changte and Bipin Singh, who fired for the Islanders in their previous outing against Odisha FC. Despite the early dismissal of experienced Greg Stewart, Mumbai beat Odisha, riding on Changte's brace, in the crucial game, and both will be expected to do well. The Blasters are banking on Dimitrios Diamantakos, Ivan Kaliuszny and Sahal Abdul Samad, who have scored 13 goals so far. The way they turned things around after the defeat against Mumbai in October speaks volumes about the team's mental toughness. Out of a total of 17 matches, Mumbai City FC won seven times and Blasters four times, while six games ended in draws. Kerala Blasters, who host Jamshedpur FC in ISL 2022-23, are all set to break into the top three. The Blasters have been on a point-scoring spree since losing to Mumbai at the end of October, winning six games and drawing one. Meanwhile, Jamshedpur have not won a match since defeating North East, losing seven and drawing one in their last eight.
Kerala Blasters are fourth in the table with 22 points, one point behind ATK Mohun Bagan. A win would not only lift the Blasters to third place but also give them a six-point cushion against FC Goa, who are outside the top four. A 2-2 draw against Goa ended the losing streak and revived Jamshedpur FC's campaign. They are miles away from playoff contention, with just one win so far and five points from 11 matches. With new signings Dylan Fox and Rafael Crivellaro joining the ranks, Jamshedpur have hit the reset button and are targeting a run of wins to get closer to the top six. Ivan Kaliuszny has been suspended for Kerala Blasters. Bejoy Varghese has disappeared from the bench in the last two matches; He was injured in November. On the other hand, Jamshedpur FC have no injury worries at the moment. Dylan Fox has joined the club as a replacement for Peter Hartley and will prepare to play against Kerala Blasters. Kerala Blasters will hope to continue their climb to the top spot in the Indian Super League (ISL) when they take on Jamshedpur FC on Tuesday. The Yellow Army are in hot form in the competition having won 6 of their last 7 games. Aim for the second half of the season
As he said in his pre-match press conference, Ivan Vukomanovic wants his team to continue their good form heading into the new year.
“We are in a part of the season where we are doing well and progressing with the squad. They are happy with our medical report and what is going on around. We hope to continue like this. As you begin to increase the physical and mental results that help you achieve results, you will gain confidence as a team to persevere and overcome any opposition. That is our aim for the second half of the season. We want to continue the same way we played in the last 7 matches. We want to be among the best and stay on top of everything,” he added. Kerala Blasters have had different goalscorers in the last few matches and Vukomanovic wants them to continue their unpredictability. He said: “As a team, you want to be unpredictable. You want variety in many other ways. If you're busy with just one of those strong pints, it means opponents can easily read you tactically. When they finish off your strong points, if it's just one, you'll struggle and have trouble scoring goals. “That's why we work in different ways and in different teams. As a team we are unpredictable and of course difficult to score past but we are working on different ways to score with many players. You want to work like that, and that's how I see myself as a coach. We don't want to focus on one or two things, which is offense or rely on one or two players who can score goals. We want to be different enough that anyone can contribute to achieving goals. I hope it can continue," he added. Ivan Vukomanovic still regards Jamshedpur FC as a dangerous team and despite the horrendous defeat, expect them to provide a tough challenge. He explained: “I think they've changed their approach to games over the last few weeks. They changed the squad, they brought more quality. From game to game, when you look at tomorrow's opponent, they are in a period where they struggle to get good results. They have lead games and have had positive momentum at times, but have failed to find grip and score points. They are a dangerous team and if you look at the table last season, they have quality. They are physically tough. “You have to be 100% in every duel, corner kick and long throw to beat them. If we as a team want to achieve a positive result tomorrow, we have to be 100% ready. We can't just sit around knowing we're on a 7-game unbeaten streak or that we're the best team. no We have to remain aggressive and hope for a better result. We cannot think of their position, that is they are not strong. They can hurt you if you think like that,” he quipped.
Post a Comment