Bengaluru vs Hyderabad: Preview and Prediction
Bengaluru and Hyderabad, two Indian Super League teams with great pedigree in their ranks, will lock horns in the second semi-final of the 2022 Durand Cup. The match will be played at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday.
Bengaluru made a few statement signings in the recently concluded summer transfer window, and most of those deals have paid dividends as they have been among the teams to beat in this competition. They won two and drew as many of their four group stage matches before winning their quarter-final tie.
Hyderabad, the champions of last season’s ISL, did not go unbeaten like their opponents, but they have won more matches. The Nizams won three group stage matches before making light work of Rajasthan United in the quarter-final.
Current Form
Bengaluru started their campaign against the defending ISL League Winners’ Shield champions Jamshedpur, where goals from strike pairing Sunil Chhetri and Roy Krishna helped them register a 4-0 win. In their second match, the Blues handed Indian Air Force a 4-0 thrashing.
The third match is when Simon Grayson’s men first faced a real challenge, as Goa held them to a 2-2 draw. Their last group stage match was also a draw – a 1-1 stalemate against I-League team Mohammedan. In the quarter-final, Bengaluru handed fellow ISL team Odisha a 2-1 defeat in a match that was decided in extra time.
Hyderabad started their season with a 2-0 win against I-League team TRAU, whilst their second match saw Manolo Marquez securing a 3-1 win against Chennaiyin, courtesy of a Bartholomew Ogbeche brace and a Joao Victor penalty.
The Nizams’ juggernaut continued as they defeated another I-League team, NEROCA by a 3-0 margin in their third group stage match, though the streak came to an end when Army Red defeated them 1-0. In the quarter-final, Marquez’s men defeated Rajasthan United 3-1.
Head to Head Record
Hyderabad holds the upper hand when it comes to head-to-head records, as they have beaten Bengaluru twice, while the Blues have got the better of the Nizams only once. Notably, three of the six matches between these two teams have ended in draws.
In the last meeting between these two sides, the Nizams emerged as 2-1 winners. Javi Siverio and Victor scored for them, while for Bengaluru, the lone goal was scored by their star striker Chhetri.
Team News
Grayson has been fielding a transformational formation in this competition, which shapes up as 5-3-2 when the team is defending, and 3-5-2 when they are defending. Sandesh Jhingan, Aleksander Jovanovic and Naorem Roshan Singh are likely to form the three-man backline, with Parag Shrivas and Prabir Das playing as wingbacks.
Much of Bengaluru’s success will depend on their engine room, which will comprise three hard-working players in Bruno Ramires, Javi Hernandez and Rohit Kumar. Chhetri and Krishna are once again expected to pair up in the attack.
Marquez usually prefers a simple 4-4-2 formation, and we are very unlikely to see a deviation from that in this match. Abdul Hakku, Akash Mishra, Nim Dorjee Tamang and Odei Onaindia are expected to be stationed at the back.
Halicharan Narzary, Hitesh Sharma, Victor and Manoj Mohammed are likely to form the Nizams’ four-man backline. The onus of scoring goals will be on the shoulders of Ogbeche and Siverio.
Predicted Playing XIs
Bengaluru (5-2-1-2): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Naorem Mahesh, Parag Shrivas, Sandesh Jhingan, Aleksander Jovanovic, Prabir Das; Bruno Ramires, Rohit Kumar; Javi Hernandez, Sunil Chhetri, Roy Krishna.
Hyderabad (4-4-2): Laxmikant Kattimani; Nim Dorjee Tamang, Abdul Hakku, Odei Onaindia, Akash Mishra, Halicharan Narzary, Hitesh Sharma, Joao Victor, Manoj Mohammed; Javi Siverio, Bartholomew Ogbeche.
Prediction
There is not much to separate the two teams on paper, but Hyderabad is slightly ahead on head-to-head records. Hence, we have predicted the Nizams to win this match, though it seems certain that the match will be an end-to-end thriller.