The second match of matchday 12 of the 2022-23 Indian Super League season will see Bengaluru take on Hyderabad. The match will be played at Bengaluru’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Friday.
Bengaluru will not be happy with what they have produced in the league so far, especially after winning the Durand Cup. Having won only three of their 10 matches and accumulated 10 points, the Blues are placed 8th in the standings.
On the contrary, Hyderabad has done a fairly decent job in their title defense. The Nizams have won seven of their first ten matches, and with 22 points in their account, are placed second in the standings – only behind Mumbai City.
Current Form
Bengaluru had a good start to their season as they were unbeaten in their first two matches, where they defeated NorthEast United and drew against Chennaiyin. However, it was followed by a streak of four consecutive defeats – against Hyderabad, Odisha, East Bengal and Mumbai City.
That being said, Simon Grayson’s men have done a comparatively better job in their last four matches. While they have accumulated two more defeats, against ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters, they have also beaten Goa and Jamshedpur.
Hyderabad started their season with a hard-fought draw against Mumbai City but was absolutely unstoppable over the next few weeks as they won five straight games. During this run, Manuel Marquez Roca’s men defeated NortHEast United, Bengaluru, Goa, Odisha and Jamshedpur.
That run came to an abrupt stop as the Nizams suffered two consecutive defeats, against Kerala Blasters and ATK Mohun Bagan. However, proving why they won the competition last season, Hyderabad made a comeback with back-to-back wins over Chennaiyin and East Bengal.
Head to Head Record
The head-to-head records are inclined in favour of Hyderabad. The Nizams have won seven of the previous meetings against Bengaluru, with the latter emerging victorious on only a single occasion. The other three matches ended in stalemates.
The last meeting, which was two months ago, saw Hyderabad getting a narrow 1-0 win at their home, GMC Balayogi Stadium. After failing to score for much of the game, Bartholomew Ogbeche’s 83rd-minute strike sealed the deal for Roca’s side.
Team News
After a disappointing 0-1 defeat against Bengaluru, it is highly likely that Boothroyd will make changes to his team. Midfielder Jitendra Singh did not look very comfortable against the Blues’ engine room, and in his place, youngster Phijam Singh could be handed a chance.
Besides that, the two wingers could also be changed for this fixture, with Boris Singh Thangjam and Farukh Chowdhary likely to make way for Daniel Chima Chukwu and Ritwik Das respectively. Besides that, Rafael Crivellaro could be replaced by Harry Sawyer.
Though his team defeated NorthEast United 2-1 in the last match, Pena could still make changes to the Goa starting XI as room for improvement is evident. Ayush Dev Chhetri was not in his usual element against the Highlanders, and he might have to make way for Brison Fernandes.
Besides that, Redeem Tlang also was rather dormant down the right flank for the Gaurs. In his place, the Spanish tactician could field Makan Chothe, who has the reputation of being a livewire if he manages to find his footing.
Predicted XIs
Bengaluru (4-3-3): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Namgyal Bhutia, Sandesh Jhingan, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Parag Shrivas; Pablo Perez, Javi Hernandez, Danish Farooq; Roshan Naorem, Roy Krishna, Sunil Chhetri.
Hyderabad (4-2-3-1): Gurmeet Singh; Nikhil Poojary, Odei Onaindia, Chinglensana Singh, Akash Mishra; Joao Victor, Sahil Tavora; Mohammad Yasir, Bartholomew Ogbeche, Halicharan Narzary; Javi Siverio.
Prediction
Hyderabad holds the edge when it comes to head-to-head record, while they are also miles ahead of Bengaluru when it comes to performances this season. Hence, we have predicted the defending champions to win all three points from this fixture.