ATK Mohun Bagan vs Goa: Preview and Prediction
Juan Ferrando’s ATK Mohun Bagan will be up against his former team Goa in ‘Match 44’ of the 2021-22 season of the Indian Super League at the Fatorda Stadium on Wednesday.
We are not even halfway into the season but ATK Mohun Bagan has already been through a rollercoaster ride. Having accumulated 11 points from 7 matches, they are placed in the fifth position in the standings.
After a poor start, last season’s semi-finalists Goa have finally found their mojo and are steadily getting their tempo back. They are occupying the eighth position, with 8 points from 7 matches.
How have they done so far?
ATK Mohun Bagan had a fantastic start to their campaign, as they won their first two outings against Kerala Blasters and arch-rivals East Bengal by convincing margins. However, those victories were followed by a streak of four winless matches, which eventually led to the conclusion of Antonio Lopez Habas’ tenure as the head coach.
In those four matches, the Mariners lost against Jamshedpur and Mumbai City, while they could only secure draws against Chennaiyin and Bengaluru. However, Juan Ferrando’s arrival has had a buoyant effect on the team, as they defeated NorthEast United by a 3-2 margin in their previous match.
On the contrary, Goa had a nightmarish start, losing all of their first three matches against Mumbai City, Jamshedpur, and NorthEast United. A spirited 4-3 triumph against East Bengal in their fourth match got their campaign on track.
The East Bengal victory was followed up with a 2-1 win against Bengaluru. Though the Gaurs are coming into this match on the two successive 1-1 stalemate against Hyderabad and Odisha, they are one of the three teams to have not lost any of their last four matches.
Head to Head Record
ATK Mohun Bagan holds an edge over Goa in head-to-head statistics as they have won one match while the other encounter ended in a draw in the two past meetings between these teams.
The Mariners emerged victorious by a 1-0 margin in the first meeting of last season courtesy of a late Roy Krishna freekick. The return leg produced a 1-1 stalemate where Ishan Pandita secured a point for the Gaurs after Edu Garcia broke the deadlock for the Kolkata-based team.
Team News
Jorge Ortiz is back in contention after having served a two-match suspension
Ferrando ditched the 4-4-2 formation preferred by Habas for a more compact 4-2-3-1 set-up, which helped his team enjoy the lion’s share of possession and dominate the midfield against NorthEast United. Deepak Tangri was impressive in his role as a defensive midfielder but the same cannot be said for Carl McHugh.
While Tangri won his battles against the Highlanders’ Imran Khan, the former Motherwell midfielder had a hard time dealing with Khassa Camara. Hence, McHugh might be replaced by Joni Kauko for this match.
For Goa, Derrick Pereira will be able to call up Jorge Ortiz as the Spaniard has served his two-match suspension and it could be a straight swap for Airam Cabrera who was injured in the last match against Odisha.
Besides that, we can expect two more changes in their starting XI with central defender Mohamed Ali making way for Sanson Pereira after a subpar outing against the Juggernauts while midfielder Princeton Rebello could make way for young starlet Muhammad Nemil.
Predicted Starting Lineups
ATK Mohun Bagan (4-2-3-1): Amrinder Singh; Ashutosh Mehta, Tiri, Pritam Kotal, Subhasish Bose; Joni Kauko, Deepak Tangri; Manvir Singh, Hugo Boumous, Liston Colaco; Roy Krishna.
Goa (3-4-1-2): Dheeraj Singh; Aiban Dohling, Ivan Gonzalez, Sanson Pereira; Seriton Fernandes, Edu Bedia, Muhammad Nemil, Saviour Gama; Alberto Noguera; Jorge Ortiz, Devendra Murgaonkar.
Prediction
ATK Mohun Bagan looked rejuvenated in Ferrando’s first match at the helm while Goa could only secure a draw to mark the commencement of the Derrick Pereira era. Keeping current form in mind, we have predicted a 2-1 win for the Mariners.