Hyderabad vs Bengaluru: Preview and Prediction
Defending Indian Super League Champions Hyderabad will face Durand Cup winners Bengaluru in Hyderabad in a mouth-watering clash on Saturday.
Apart from pitting two title contenders against one another, the match will witness many mini-battles across the field.
None bigger than the battle of the two strikers – Bartholomew Ogbeche and Roy Krishna. Ogbeche and Krishna are two of the greatest strikers to have played in the ISL. The Nigerian is the all-time leading goal scorer in the league’s history with 54 goals while Krishna is fourth on the all-time list with 37 strikes to his name.
Both the strikers opened their accounts for the season with well-taken goals in their last match and are set for an epic battle in Hyderabad on Saturday. The final outcome of the game could very likely come down to who outshines the other on the day.
The competition will finally make its return to Hyderabad as the Nizams play their first home game of the season. As a fairly new addition to the ISL venues, this city has missed out on a vast majority of the action due to the pandemic in the last two years and the fans there will be eager to make their presence felt and watch their team in action. There is renewed optimism around these places as Hyderabad returns to their home ground as the champions of the land and already sitting at the top of the table.
Current Form
The Nizams began their title defense with an ordinary result. The defending champions gave away two points, courtesy of a late second-half equaliser from Mumbai City in their opening game of the season. Manolo Marquez’s side has been shuffled but still retains its ruthless approach on the pitch against other teams.
However, they bounced back strongly in the second game as the defending champions opened their account in the Indian Super League by defeating NorthEast United 3-0 at Guwahati. The Nizams dominated the game, and it was one-way traffic throughout at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, leaving the hosts demoralised.
Bartholomew Ogbeche opened the scoring in the 13th minute, Player of the Match Halicharan Narzary doubled the lead in the 69th minute, and substitute Borja Herrera ensured the game was done and dusted with his 73rd-minute strike.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru won a close encounter against NorthEast United in their season opener with Alan Costa scoring the match-winning goal. The Blues created 17 chances but could only get two shots on target. With two of the best strikers in the league, Roy Krishna and Sunil Chettri, this is a major concern for Simon Grayson.
In their next game, Roy Krishna’s early goal was cancelled out by a Prashanth Karuthadathkuni strike as Bengaluru were held to a 1-1 draw by Chennaiyin at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Simon Grayson’s men played the final moments of the game with an advantage in personnel, after Chennaiyin goalkeeper Debjit Majumder was sent off, but were unable to find a winner in what was a high-octane encounter from start to finish.
Head to Head record
Hyderabad and Bengaluru have faced each other in six matches in the Indian Super League. Out of these six games, Bengaluru has won one whereas Hyderabad has come out victorious on two occasions with three matches ending with a draw.
Hyderabad recorded a league double over Bengaluru last season by winning their home game 1-0 in December 2021 whilst recording a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture in February this year. In that game, Javier Siverio and Joao Victor scored for the Nizams while Sunil Chhetri scored for the Blues.
Team News
Odei Onaindia has returned to Hyderabad after a one-year absence
Hyderabad gaffer Manuel Marquez Roca will opt for the same playing eleven that played against NorthEast United in the last game week. Thus, Laxmikant Kattimani will see himself keeping guard of the goal-post. Ahead of him, the ever-dependent Odei Onaindia and Chinglensana Singh will form the heart of the Nizams’ defense whilst Borja Herrera and Akash Mishra will be deployed in the flanks.
The duo of Hitesh Sharma and Joao Victor will act as the lynchpin to Hyderabad’s midfield while the trio of Nikhil Poojary and Halicharan Nazary act as the offensive players on the wings. Mohammad Yasir will don the Number 10 role for the team and will try to provide for star striker Ogbeche, who has been brilliant in the tournament.
Simon Grayson will line up Gurpreet Singh Sandhu as the custodian of Bengaluru’s post. Sandesh Jhingan and Alan Costa will line up just in front of the Indian keeper with Prabir Das and Roshan Naorem Singh deployed wide.
Bruno Ramires is expected to again don the role of defensive midfield in the diamond formation that Grayson prefers in the middle of the park with Suresh Wangjam and Danish Farooq dictating the terms for the Blues in the centre. Danish Farooq will act as a creative player sitting just behind strikers Roy Krishna and Sunil Chettri and trying to feed the duo.
Predicted XIs
Hyderabad (4-2-3-1): Laxmikant Kattimani; Borja Herrera, Odei Onaindia, Chinglensana Singh, Akash Mishra; Hitesh Sharma, Joao Victor; Nikhil Poojary, Mohammad Yasir, Halicharan Narzary; Bartholomew Ogbeche
Bengaluru (4-1-2-1-2): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Prabir Das, Sandesh Jhingan, Alan Costa, Roshan Naorem Singh; Bruno Ramires; Suresh Wangjam, Danish Farooq; Javi Hernandez; Roy Krishna, Sunil Chettri
Prediction
After they were held in their season-opener against Mumbai City, reigning champions Hyderabad were able to claim their first win of the campaign thanks to a comfortable success against NorthEast United. They have scored three goals in each of their two games so far this season and that record in front of the goal should help them in this clash with Bengaluru.
The away side has claimed four points from a possible six after playing out a draw with Chennaiyin but this is a much tougher assignment for them and they look set to suffer their first loss of the season.