Manolo Marquez’s homecoming is finally happening as the delayed fixture between Hyderabad and Goa will be played at the Gachibowli Stadium on Thursday. The match was supposed to be the season opener for both sides in the 2023-24 Indian Super League season but was postponed to help Goa send a few key players for India’s Asian Games campaign in September.
Hyderabad has been a mere shadow of the club that Marquez left as the Nizams automatically qualified for the semi-final of the 2022-23 ISL season due to finishing second in the league stage but have endured multiple losses so far as the off-field issues continue to hamper their performances on the field.
Marquez had his say about the off-field issues brewing at the club where he won the 2021-22 ISL title with most of those players now moving to different clubs.
The former Hyderabad head coach said,
“I am very sad with the situation at Hyderabad. People who work very hard to keep the club afloat are without salaries for many months. Let’s see how they can solve the situation with four or five more key players leaving the club yesterday. I am very sad because it’s very difficult to build teams in football but too easy to destroy.”
On the other hand, Goa has regained the success it had in the first six ISL seasons followed by a a blip in the last few seasons. Marquez has helped inculcate an identity into the side apart from adding steel to the team in the form of Sandesh Jhingan, Odei Onaindia, Carl McHugh, and Rowlin Borges.
Noah Sadaoui has been a shining light in the attack while Borja Herrera and Mohammed Yasir have been added to the squad in the winter transfer window to replace the injured Victor Rodriguez who has been ruled out of the remainder of the league season.
Current Form
Hyderabad has secured four points from their last 11 outings, courtesy of draws against Mumbai City, Bengaluru, Punjab, and NorthEast United.
The Nizams fielded an inexperienced side in the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup but the youthful exuberance of the players helped them challenge the likes of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan Super Giant but Thangboi Singto’s side ended the campaign winless as they lost the first-ever Hyderabad Derby against Sreenidi Deccan after being on the wrong side of the result against the Kolkata giants.
On the other hand, Goa is aiming to recover the pole position in the league standings before Kerala Blasters travel to Bhubaneswar to challenge an in-form Odisha side. Currently, the Gaurs have 24 points from 10 matches courtesy of 7 wins and three draws as Marquez’s side is the only unbeaten team in the ongoing league campaign.
Goa had a good outing in the Super Cup as the Gaurs defeated Bengaluru and Inter Kashi, albeit without a couple of key players which showed against a full-strength Odisha side in the last group fixture where the defending champions came out on top to move to the knockout stage.
Head to Head Record
Goa dominated Hyderabad in the first five meetings between the two clubs as the Gaurs ended up on the winning side on three occasions with the other two matches ending in stalemates.
But, Marquez ensured that Hyderabad is on equal standing with the Margao-based club as the Nizams won all three matches since then completing a double over the Gaurs in the 2022-23 ISL campaign.
Javier Siviero scored the lone goal at the Gachibowli Stadium in the 1-0 win followed by a Bartholomew Ogbeche hat-trick at the Fatorda Stadium with Redeem Tlang scoring the consolation goal for Goa.
Team News
Petteri Pennanen has officially terminated his contract with Hyderabad
Finnish midfielder Petteri Pennanen announced on Monday that he has officially terminated his contract with the club due to non-payment of salaries while Hitesh Sharma, Chinglensana Singh, Nim Dorjee Tamang, and Nikhil Poojary have signed contracts with their new clubs after getting approval from the AIFF’s player status committee.
The Hyderabad head coach might field a similar side to the one that started the Hyderabad Derby and will have to rely on a thin squad to see out the remainder of the season.
Marquez was concerned about Sandesh Jhingan’s injury on the right knee as the central defender picked up a serious injury on international duty during India’s crucial match against Syria in the AFC Asian Cup campaign.
The head coach said,
“We know it can be a bad injury but the feeling is that it is gonna be a long injury layoff. It is true that we would need to sign another player because we don’t have enough defenders in the squad.”
New signing Borja Herrera could be available to make an appearance from the bench as he trained with the Gaurs on Tuesday after lifting the 2024 Super Cup trophy on Sunday with East Bengal.
Predicted Starting XIs
Hyderabad (4-2-3-1): Laxmikant Kattimani; Alex Saji, Jeremy, Mohammed Rafi, Sajad Hussain; Mark Zothanpuia, Ramhlunchhunga; Abdul Rabeeh, Lalchhanhima Sailo, Makan Winkle Chothe; Aaren d’Silva.
Goa (4-2-3-1): Arshdeep Singh; Seriton Fernandes, Odei Onaindia, Narayan Das, Jay Gupta; Carl McHugh, Raynier Fernandes; Boris Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Noah Sadaoui; Carlos Martinez.
Prediction
Goa is the favorite heading into the contest but SIngto’s boys proved in the recently concluded Super Cup campaign that they are ready to challenge every big side and would certainly be getting one of their toughest tests at home when Marquez marks his return to the club on Thursday.