Hyderabad vs Goa: Preview and Prediction
League leaders Hyderabad will clash with Goa in ‘Match 95’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season at the Athletic Stadium in the late kick-off on Saturday.
Hyderabad has been one of the most consistent teams this season, losing only three of their 16 matches. Having accumulated 29 points, the Nizams are currently occupying the pole position in the standings.
On the other hand, Goa has had a forgettable campaign and they should start planning for the future since this season is as good as over. The Gaurs are toiling at ninth place with 18 points to their name from 17 matches.
Current Form
Hyderabad has secured six points from their last three outings, courtesy of two victories. In their previous encounter, Manolo Marquez’s men registered a 2-1 win against Bengaluru.
Those three points were of utmost importance to the Nizams as just before taking on the Blues, they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of ATK Mohun Bagan. In the preceding game, Marquez’s team trumped NorthEast United by a 5-0 margin.
Goa has experienced every possible result in their last three matches, having won, lost, and drawn one game each. In their last match, Derrick Pereira’s side lost 2-0 against ATK Mohun Bagan.
This defeat could have acted as a major confidence dampener as it came less than a week after their stupendous 5-0 rout against Chennaiyin. The Gaurs were restricted to a 1-1 draw by Odisha before facing the Marina Machans.
Head to Head Record
Goa has always emerged as the dominant force whenever these two sides have locked horns in their competition. Out of the five meetings, the Gaurs ended up on the winning side on three occasions with the other two matches ending in stalemates.
One such stalemate was played out earlier this season. Joel Chianese’s goal gave Hyderabad a crucial lead but Airam Cabrera’s strike helped Pereira’s team rescue a point from the game.
Team News
Asish Rai is available for selection after serving his suspension
Marquez could make a couple of changes to his started XI despite the 2-1 triumph against Bengaluru. Asish Rai is likely to regain his right-back position after serving his one-game suspension, with Nim Dorjee Tamang dropping to the bench.
Besides that, the former Badalona manager could also reintroduce Aniket Jadhav in place of Nikhil Poojary, since the latter had a poor outing against the Blues, having failed to create any chance and getting only 24 touches of the ball.
Pereira will have his hands tied down whilst selecting the starting XI for this match as many of Goa’s players are unavailable for a plethora of reasons. To make matters worse for him, Glan Martins has also been suspended for this match for picking up four yellow cards.
Muhammad Nemil could be introduced in the middle of the park in Martins’ absence. Besides that, Dylan Fox could be replaced Saviour Gama, which will then allow the National Football League-winning head coach to field Airam Cabrera upfront. Jorge Ortiz could be deployed on the wings, with Makan Chothe starting from the bench.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Hyderabad (4-2-3-1): Laxmikant Kattimani; Asish Rai, Chinglensana Singh, Juanan, Akash Mishra; Sauvik Chakrabarti, Joao Victor; Aniket Jadhav, Bartholomew Ogbeche, Rohit Danu; Javier Siverio.
Goa (4-2-3-1): Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem; Seriton Fernandes, Ivan Gonzalez, Anwar Ali, Saviour Gama; Princeton Rebello, Muhammad Nemil; Jorge Ortiz, Alberto Noguera, Brandon Fernandes; Airam Cabrera.
Prediction
Head-to-head statistics seem to be inconsequential in this match as Hyderabad has been head and shoulders above their opposition this season. Accordingly, we have predicted a 3-1 scoreline in favor of the Nizams.