Bengaluru vs Jamshedpur: Preview and Prediction
Bengaluru and Jamshedpur, two of the four teams currently placed in the semi-final zone, will face-off in ‘Match 82’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season at the Athletic Stadium on Saturday.
Though they are still a long way away from the semis, Bengaluru should be praised for their remarkable comeback after a challenging start. The Blues are occupying fourth place in the standings having accumulated 20 points from 14 matches.
On the other hand, Jamshedpur has been fairly consistent throughout the season barring occasional hiccups. With 22 points from 12 matches, the Red Miners are placed in the second position, four points behind league leaders Hyderabad but with two matches in hand.
Current Form
Both Jamshedpur and Bengaluru will come into this match with their heads held high, as they have done a commendable job in their recent run of fixtures. The Red Miners are one of the two teams to have won all of their last three matches.
In their previous two fixtures, Owen Coyle’s men secured consecutive 1-0 triumphs against Goa and East Bengal, courtesy of goals from Daniel Chima Chukwu and Ishan Pandita. Before that, they handed NorthEast United a 3-2 drubbing.
Bengaluru might not have won three matches on the bounce, but they are one of the only two teams to have remained unbeaten in their last five matches. In their previous three fixtures, Marco Pezzaiouli’s men have accumulated seven points with the help of two draws and one victory.
The Blues are coming into this match on the back of successive Southern Derby triumphs – a 1-0 win over Kerala Blasters and a 3-0 win against Chennaiyin. Before facing their two rivals, the Blues played out a 1-1 draw against Goa.
Head to Head Record
Jamshedpur holds the edge in terms of head-to-head records, as they have won four of the nine fixtures against Bengaluru. The Blues have emerged victorious on only two occasions, with three matches ending in draws.
The first meeting of this season produced one of those three draws. Both teams created chances aplenty but were wasteful in the final third, resulting in a 0-0 scoreline.
Team News
Cleiton Silva and Alan Costa are expected to be back in the Bengaluru starting XI
Pezzaiouli is expected to make two changes to the team that ended Kerala Blasters’ ten-match unbeaten streak. One of the two will be a forced change since Prince Ibara will have to serve a one-game suspension after picking up four yellow cards.
Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva is expected to be back in the starting XI in Ibara’s place while his countryman Alan Costa could also be reinstated in the backline with Wungngayam Muirang dropping to the bench.
Coyle will have to deal with a similar predicament as the leader of his defensive contingent, Peter Hartley will be unavailable after getting yellow-carded in four matches and is likely to be replaced by Eli Sabia.
Besides that, the former Burnley manager is expected to make two more changes. Jordan Murray can take up Seimenlen Doungel’s place on the right-wight and to maintain overseas count, Alex Lima might have to be sacrificed for Mobashir Rahman.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Bengaluru (4-3-3): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Parag Shrivas, Pratik Chaudhari, Alan Costa, Roshan Naorem; Suresh Singh, Bruno Ramires, Danish Farooq; Udanta Singh, Cleiton Silva, Sunil Chhetri.
Jamshedpur (4-2-3-1): TP Rehenesh; Laldinliana Renthlei, Narender Gehlot, Eli Sabia, Ricky Lallawmawma; Jitendra Singh, Mobashir Rahman; Jordan Murray, Greg Stewart, Boris Singh Thangjam; Daniel Chima Chukwu.
Prediction
Both teams are looking like well-oiled machines and there is hardly anything to separate them. Hence, we have predicted a 1-1 draw for this match.