Indian Football League

Match 25: ATKMB vs. CFC

Preview

The green and maroon brigade is not associated with a lot of defeats in their history. However, the Kolkata based club hasn’t managed to get a win in their last two matches. First Mumbai and then Jamshedpur has shown what is exactly wrong with the team this year. Chennai, on the other hand, has impressed everyone. Even without Rafael Crivellaro in the mix, Chennai has shown great character as the young Anirudh Thapa is leading his troops well as the Machans are now fifth in the table.

Mohun Bagan is one of the favourites to win the tournament this season. They have a fantastic squad with a lot of match winners. Their problem however lies in the defense. As Sandesh Jhingan left them to join a Croatian based club, the defense of their team has been hit. Tiri, Jhingan’s defensive partner was also injured and yet to take part in this season. He however has recovered but coach Antonio Lopez Habas looks confused as he has too many quality players on his hand to choose from. David Williams, the Aussie forward is already starting from the bench even after he scored some crucial goals in the past and if reports are to be believed, he wants to leave the club as well. Habas needs to sort this entire out and strengthen his defense to win matches in the coming matches.  

Coach Habas spoke about the balance of the team in the pre match press conference before challenging Chennai. He said, “It’s all about balance. In the first two matches, we scored seven goals and we were like the best team in the world, but, we did not score that many in the next two matches, we are like the worst team in the world – it doesn’t happen like that. It is not possible to from becoming the best club in the world to the worst club in the world, within just 10 days”.

Their opponent Chennai is yet to lose a match this season. They would like to keep their undefeated streak going but against the likes of Hugo Boumous and Roy Krishna, the Chennai defense will face some serious threat tonight. Specially when their opponent hasn’t been tested a win their last two matches. Vladimir Koman will be important for the team in this match. He has been very instrumental in Chennai’s success so far and against Mohun Bagan, he needs to pull another master class to register all three points in favour of the Machans.

Before competing against the green and maroon brigade, Coach Bozidar Bandovic in the pre match press conference said, “In my opinion, Mohun Bagan is one of the best teams in the league; you have to respect the team. They played in the final last season and they have had the same coach for many years. It’s a very good team and they are now more dangerous than ever. Of course they lost two games, but that doesn’t change our approach. From what I see, they are a very dangerous team”.

Speaking about the duo of Roy Krishna and Hugo Boumous, he said, “Pressure on the ball, good communication, they are very dangerous in one-on-one situations. Roy Krishna attacks the space, we need to create pressure in winning the ball and we need to control his runs, especially when he gets the ball with open space. They have a dangerous last pass and Krishna attacks this space very well, he reads the game well. So, we need to defend well, with good pressure and good communication. We also need to win the one-on-one situations”.

ATKMB vs. CFC Predicted Line Ups

ATKMB - Amrinder Singh (GK), Pritam Kotal (c), Carl McHugh, Subashish Bose, Manvir Singh, Lenny Rodrigues, Deepak Tangri, Joni Kauko, Liston Colaco, Hugo Boumous, Roy Krishna

CFC - Vishal  Kaith (GK), Reagan Singh, Slavko Damjanovic, Narayan Das, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Ariel Borysiuk, Anirudh Thapa (c), Lallianzuala Chhangte, Vladmir Koman, Mirlan Murzaev, Jobby Justin

Match Prediction

On paper, the green and maroon brigade is a much stronger side and they will be the favourites to win the match. It’s either a 2-2 draw or Mohun Bagan will clean sweep if they keep their defense intact. Don’t be surprised if Tiri features in the match.

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