Chennaiyin vs Odisha: Preview and Prediction
Chennaiyin and Odisha will lock horns with each other in the first fixture of the Saturday double-header at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco in the 2021-22 Indian Super League season.
Chennaiyin were unbeaten for their first four games but were handed a 1-0 defeat by the hands of Mumbai City in their previous encounter. The two-time ISL champions are placed fifth on the points table and could go third and even second place potentially if they get a win on the weekend.
On the other hand, Odisha would also be looking to bag a win as they are just a spot ahead of Chennaiyin and would like to have some cushion in the playoff places.
How have they done so far?
Chennaiyin began their campaign this season with a slim 1-0 victory over Hyderabad. Vladimir Koman’s strike from the spot proved to be enough as their opponents were found guilty of missing plenty of chances. The Bozidar Bandovic-coached unit defeated NorthEast United 2-1 with Indian internationals Anirudh Thapa and Lallianzuala Chhangte finding the back of the net.
They followed it up with back-to-back draws against Kolkata teams East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan, with the scoreline reading 0-0 and 1-1 respectively but lost their most recent fixture 1-0 to reigning champions Mumbai City.
Odisha too had a similar outing in the current season, starting off with an emphatic 3-1 win over Bengaluru. They hammered East Bengal 6-4 next but lost their track against Kerala Blasters resulting in a 1-2 defeat.
Kiko Ramirez’s side came up with a 1-0 victory against NorthEast United to lift their morale up but a Greg Stewart hat-trick saw Jamshedpur battering the Juggernauts 4-0 in their last encounter.
Head to Head Record
Since the formation of Odisha before the 2019-20 season of ISL, the two sides have faced off against each other four times, sharing one victory over each other with the two remaining encounters ending in a stalemate.
In the first meeting between the two sides last season, both teams failed to find the back of the net as the final scoreline read 0-0. However, Chennaiyin won the next encounter 2-1 with Esmael Goncalves netting a brace while Diego Mauricio did pull one back but it proved to be too little too late for the Kalinga Warriors.
Team News
Javi Hernandez might find his name back in the Odisha starting XI
Chennaiyin fielded an unchanged side against table-toppers Mumbai City but couldn’t find the back of the net. Their Polish striker Lukasz Gikiewicz barely troubled the opposition defense and Bandovic might replace him with Kyrgyzstan winger Mirlan Murzaev.
With Murzaev taking one of the spots on the wing, Rahim Ali might be slotted in as a striker to replace Lallianzuala Chhangte. The Marina Machans have a relatively stable defensive unit and no change is expected there while skipper Rafael Crivellaro remains unavailable for selection.
Odisha struggled without Javi Hernandez at the middle of the pitch against Jamshedpur as they conceded four goals in the first half and things turned out to be slightly better when Ramirez brought him on at half-time.
The former ATK Mohun Bagan midfielder is likely to replace Jerry Mawihmingthanga in the field and to not exceed the foreigner quota, Hector Rodas may be sacrificed for the promising Gaurav Bora. Full-back Sahil Panwar and first-choice goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh still remain unavailable due to injury concerns.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Chennaiyin (4-1-4-1): Vishal Kaith; Reagan Singh, Slavko Damjanovic, Narayan Das, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Ariel Borysiuk; Edwin Vanspaul, Anirudh Thapa, Vladimir Koman, Mirlan Murzaev; Rahim Ali
Odisha (4-2-3-1): Kamaljit Singh; Lalruatthara, Victor Mongil, Gaurav Bora, Hendry Antonay; Paul Ramfangzuava, Vinit Rai; Isaac Vanmalsawma, Javi Hernandez, Aridai Cabrera; Jonathas de Jesus
Prediction
Both teams are coming on the back of a defeat and need a win desperately to get their campaign back on track. Odisha has a leaky defense and we expect Chennaiyin to score at least a goal against them. The Marina Machans are strong in the back but the Bhubaneshwar-based team can carve out a goal out of nothing as seen this season. We predict the match to end in a 1-1 draw.