Matchday 19 of the Indian Super League will see a stuttering Kerala Blasters take on the rampant Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Wednesday from 7:30 PM IST onwards at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
While mathematically both sides are in the title race, the home side is lagging far behind the visitors, thanks in part to the dreadful injuries they have suffered especially in the second half of the season.
The Yellow Army have won only 1 league game so far this year, that being against Goa at home. They have lost 4 of the 5 fixtures since the league restarted in late January and have scored 23 goals, the joint-least amongst the top 6 sides currently. Raising head coach Ivan Vukomanovic’s concern further will be the fact that they conceded 19 goals in total so far, a whopping 9 of which have come in their last 5 clashes.
The Mariners on the other hand have been revitalised under head coach Antonio Lopez Habas and look unstoppable. Fresh from a Kolkata Derby win, they are unbeaten in the league so far, having picked up a whopping 16 points out of the 21 available to them since the end of the 2024 Super Cup.
They have also scored 34 goals in the league so far, the highest number of goals by any side and certainly seem favorites to win the Shield for the first time.
Current Form
Kerala Blasters come into the tie having faced a loss in the South Indian Derby away to Bengaluru a few weeks back. Javi Hernandez struck gold in that clash as the home side bagged the bragging rights.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant are on a Derby high as well, having thrashed eternal rivals East Bengal 1-3 in their last clash. Jason Cummings, Liston Colaco, and Dimitri Petratos found the back of the net in a first-half foray to which the Torchbearers had no response.
Head to Head Record
The two sides have faced each other 7 times so far, with just 1 win to the Blasters’ name while the Mariners have etched 5 victories in this clash.
In the reverse fixture in Kolkata in December, Kerala Blasters eked out a brilliant 0-1 win thanks to a Dimitrios Diamantakos goal.
Team News
Luna’s prolonged absence has impacted Kerala Blasters’ fortunes
For Kerala Blasters, Jaushua Sotirio, Aibanbha Dohling, Adrian Luna, Kwame Peprah, and Sachin Suresh all continue to be unavailable due to long-term injuries. Mohammed Azhar, Hormipan Ruivah, Sandeep Singh, Dimitrios Diamantakos, Milos Drincic, and Pritam Kotal are all on 3 yellow cards and will be suspended if they pick up one more booking.
For Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Glan Martins could be suspended if he picks up one more yellow card. Other than that, there are no players who are missing out due to injury as of now.
Predicted Starting XIs
Kerala Blasters (4-4-2): Karanjit Singh; Sandeep Singh, Ruivah Hormipam, Miloš Drinčić, Naocha Singh; Fedor Černych, Vibin Mohanan, Danish Farooq, Daisuke Sakai; Nihal Sudeesh, Dimitrios Diamantakos.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant (3-1-4-2): Vishal Kaith; Anwar Ali, Héctor Yuste, Subhasish Bose; Abhishek Suryavanshi; Manvir Singh, Joni Kauko, Liston Colaco, Sahal Abdul Samad; Dimitri Petratos, Jason Cummings,.
Prediction
The Mariners are definitely better positioned to take this tie and extend their 7-match unbeaten streak. It would take a miracle for the Yellow Army to clinch a point in this fixture, but stranger things have happened in the league this season so one can never be certain.
However, if an upset does happen, the league title race will certainly spice up extensively which would be great entertainment for the neutrals.