The 2023-24 Indian Super League season returns with Matchday 20 of an enthralling season as the disappointing international break culminates with club football fans rejoicing at the potential high-profile clash between Bengaluru and Odisha at the Sree Kantaveera Stadium on Saturday from 5:00 PM IST.
The run-in to the playoffs involves the same three opponents for Bengaluru and sixth-placed Punjab as they face Odisha, Mohun Bagan Super Giant, and East Bengal while the eighth-placed Jamshedpur and ninth-placed NorthEast United face Chennaiyin and Kerala Blasters in addition to an extra match each.
While the Blues are involved in a four-way or a potential six-horse race for the sixth qualification spot for the playoffs, Odisha became the first team to qualify for the 2023-24 ISL playoffs and would focus on bringing the trophy home after getting eliminated from the AFC Cup.
Odisha head coach Sergio Lobera discussed the tough scheduling of ISL fixtures before and after the international break.
“It was good for us to have a little break because coming from the AFC Cup and ISL games, the calendar was crazy for us. For the players, it is very important to be in good physical condition and good mental condition. We again have four games in two days but we are excited to come back to the competition after the break.”
The Odisha head coach said
Current Form
Currently, Bengaluru has 21 points from 19 matches courtesy of 5 wins, 6 draws, and 8 losses so far in the league season with the last of those defeats coming in the last ISL match before the international break as Goa won 2-1 against 10-men Bengaluru.
Odei Onaindia cancelled out Shivaldo Singh’s goal in the first half and Boris Singh eventually scored the winner in the 81st minute. Gerard Zaragoza would be hoping to lead his side back to winning ways in a crucial fixture for the Blues with two battles against the Kolkata giants lined up after the home fixture against Odisha.
On the other hand, the Juggernauts are in the fourth position with 35 points from 18 matches courtesy of 10 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses. Sergio Lobera’s men also lost their ISL fixture in a surprising 2-1 defeat against Chennaiyin.
Ankit Mukherjee opened the scoring in the 6th minute of that fixture and it took Odisha 72 minutes to find an equalizer courtesy of Roy Krishna but Jordan Murray’s winner in injury time set up the Juggernauts for their third defeat of the season.
After the defeat in the league, Lobera’s men travelled to New South Wales in Australia to get a 4-0 thrashing from Central Coast Mariners before the Australian side visited Bhubaneswar for a 0-0 draw knocking out Odisha from the continental tournament.
Head to Head Record
Odisha and Bengaluru have competed on 13 occasions and the Blues have won 7 of those contests with the Juggernauts coming out on top five times with only one fixture ending as a draw.
The reverse fixture in the league saw Odisha host Bengaluru at the Kalinga Stadium and the contest ended 3-2 with Sunil Chhetri opening the scoring for the Blues in the 8th minute and Ryan Williams doubled the visitors’ advantage ten minutes later giving Simon Grayson’s side a 2-0 lead.
Puitea scored a long-range stunner in the 23rd minute to half the deficit and Isak Ralte benefitted from a scramble in the box at the cusp of half-time to make it 2-2. Roshan Singh Naorem collected two yellow cards and was sent off early in the second half allowing Odisha to take a 3-2 lead through Amey Ranawade.
Odisha and Bengaluru also met in the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup in a rematch of the 2023 Super Cup final and Lobera’s men again finished on top courtesy of an Ahmed Jahouh free-kick.
Team News
Suresh Singh Wangjam and two more crucial players will miss the clash against Odisha
For the hosts, Suresh Singh Wangjam would be missing the crucial fixture after picking up a straight red card in the 2-1 defeat to Goa while Slavko Damjanovic and Aleksandar Jovanovic are also suspended for accumulating 8 and 4 bookings respectively.
Shivaldo Singh, Harsh Patre, and Shankar Sampingiraj are on three bookings each and could be suspended if they get a yellow card on Saturday.
For the visitors, there are no injury concerns or suspensions to be worried about but Jerry Lalrinzuala and Pranjal Bhumij are on three bookings each and are at risk of suspension if they pick up a booking in Karnataka’s capital city.
Predicted Starting XIs
Bengaluru (4-1-2-1-2): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Nikhil Poojary, Keziah Veendorp, Chinglensana Singh, Roshan Singh Naorem; Lalremtluanga Fanai; Rohit Kumar, Ryan Williams; Javi Hernandez; Oliver Drost, Sunil Chhetri
Odisha (4-2-3-1): Amrinder Singh; Amey Ranawade, Carlos Delgado, Narender Gahlot, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Puitea, Ahmed Jahouh; Roy Krishna, Thoiba Singh, Isak Vanlalruatfela; Diego Mauricio
Prediction
Both teams have a lot at stake with Odisha still in contention for the ISL League Winners’ Shield mathematically while Zaragoza is hoping to get his side into the playoffs by sneaking into the sixth position as the battle for the sixth spot in the league standings heats up in the next fortnight.