Final – Hyderabad vs Kerala Blasters: Preview and Prediction
After 114 enthralling matches of football, we have finally arrived at the final of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season, where Hyderabad and Kerala Blasters will lock horns at the Fatorda Stadium on Sunday. Having made it this far, both teams will be desperate to get their hands on the trophy for the first time.
Hyderabad finished second in the league phase, accumulating 38 points from their 20 fixtures. In their semi-final tie, the Nizams knocked out heavyweights ATK Mohun Bagan by a 3-2 margin on aggregate to secure their maiden appearance in the final.
On the other hand, Kerala Blasters finished fourth in the league stage with 34 points to their name from 20 matches. The Tuskers will be playing their third ISL final after beating League Winners’ Shield-winning team Jamshedpur 2-1 across the two legs.
Current Form
Hyderabad will come into this match on the back of a 1-0 defeat against ATK Mohun Bagan in the second leg of their semi-final clash, but it did not mean much as Manolo Marquez’s team had won 3-1 in the first leg.
Before the playoffs, the Nizams won two of their last three league stage games. They won 2-1 against both Mumbai City and Kerala Blasters, but Jamshedpur handed them a 3-0 defeat which eventually deprived Hyderabad of the League Winners’ Shield.
Kerala Blasters held Jamshedpur to a 1-1 draw in their second leg semi-final clash. It proved to be enough to warrant their place in the final, as Ivan Vukomanovic’s team had won 1-0 in the first leg.
The Tuskers are unbeaten in their last five matches since before coming into the semi-finals, they had gathered seven points from their last three league stage fixtures. Vukomanovic’s men won 1-0 against Jamshedpur and 3-1 against Mumbai City, whilst Goa restricted them to a thrilling 4-4 stalemate.
Head to Head Record
These two teams are virtually inseparable when it comes to head-to-head records. Hyderabad and Kerala Blasters have crossed paths six times in this competition, of which each side has won three games.
The first meeting of this season ended 1-0 in the Tuskers’ favour, where Alvaro Vazquez netted the winning goal. However, Marquez’s team avenged that defeat in the return leg with a 2-1 victory. Bartholomew Ogbeche and Javi Siverio were on target for the Nizams in that game, while Vincy Barretto scored the Tuskers’ solitary goal.
Team News
Rahul KP (right) could feature in Kerala Blasters’ starting XI if Sahal Abdul Samad does not recover in time
Marquez is unlikely to make any changes to his starting XI despite the defeat in the last match, though there will be a few deliberations. One position up for debate is right-back, where Nim Dorjee Tamang started in the last game and put up a commendable display. The Nizams’ first-choice right-back Asish Rai has regained match sharpness and is available for selection, but given Tamang’s form, it is expected that the lad from Sikkim will retain his place.
Besides that, the left-wing is another position under the scanner. Aniket Jadhav had a poor game against the Mariners, whilst the preferred occupant of the place, Nikhil Poojary is nursing an injury. Poojary could make the cut if he passes the pre-match fitness test, but otherwise, Jadhav is likely to feature once again.
Like his Hyderabad counterpart, Vukomanovic will also be dealing with injury concerns. Sahal Abdul Samad sustained a hamstring injury before the second leg semi-final tie against the Red Miners.
The Serbian tactician tried retaining his tried and tested formation by playing full-back Nishu Kumar on the right-wing, but it simply did not work out. If Sahal does not recover in time, youngster Rahul KP could be given a chance in this match.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Hyderabad (4-2-3-1): Laxmikant Kattimani; Nim Dorjee Tamang, Chinglensana Singh, Juanan, Akash Mishra; Sauvik Chakrabarti, Joao Victor; Mohammad Yasir, Bartholomew Ogbeche, Aniket Jadhav; Javi Siverio.
Kerala Blasters (4-4-2): Prabhsukhan Gill; Harmanjot Khabra, Ruivah Hormipam, Marko Leskovic, Sandeep Singh; Rahul KP, Ayush Adhikari, Puitea, Adrian Luna; Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Alvaro Vazquez.
Prediction
As the head-to-head statistics suggest, there is hardly anything to differentiate these two teams who have arrived at this stage not because of luck, but purely on merit. However, because they have done comparatively better in the recent weeks and are on a run of five unbeaten games, we have predicted Kerala Blasters to be third time lucky and lift the coveted silverware by securing a 2-1 victory.