The last fixture of Matchday 17 of the 2023-24 Indian Super League season will see third-placed Mohun Bagan Super Giant host sixth-placed Jamshedpur at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Kirirangan from 7:30 PM IST on Friday.
Two clubs that have changed head coaches in the midst of the league season and are on an upward curve will be looking over their respective shoulders to teams aiming to chase them while keeping eyes on teams ahead of them as well.
Current Form
Mohun Bagan Super Giant is currently in the third position in the league standings with 30 points from 15 matches courtesy of 9 wins, 3 draws, and 3 defeats. The Mariners started the league season with five consecutive wins which was halted by a 2-2 draw against Odisha.
Juan Ferrando’s side bounced back with a win against NorthEast United but three consecutive losses against Mumbai City, Goa, and Kerala Blasters meant that the Mariners had to part ways with the former Goa head coach.
Antonio Lopez Habas took over during the mid-season break and has brought fresh energy into the club as his side has drawn two and won three matches since the resumption of the league season.
On the other hand, Jamshedpur had a poor start to the season scoring only 2 goals in the first five matches but still managed to bag 5 points courtesy of a win and two draws. Three consecutive losses to MBSG, Goa, and Odisha derailed Scott Cooper’s men who lost two more matches before the mid-season break and the Red Miners decided to part ways with Cooper.
Khalid Jamil was installed as the head coach of Jamshedpur for the remainder of the season and the Indian head coach straightaway delivered by defeating Mumbai City 3-2 followed by a draw against Bengaluru and consecutive wins against Punjab and East Bengal leading the Jharkhand-based club to the sixth position in the league standings.
Head to Head Record
In the eight matches between the two teams, Jamshedpur has the upper hand with 4 wins while MBSG has 3 wins with one contest ending even between the two sides.
The reverse fixture in the league saw Jamshedpur host Mohun Bagan Super Giant at the Furnace and the match ended 3-2 in favor of the Mariners. Mohammed Sanan opened the scoring on 1st November and Armando Saduku equalized for Ferrando’s men before Liston Colaco gave the away side the lead.
TP Rehenesh was shown the red card with a quarter of the match remaining leaving his side down to 10 men and Kiyan Nassiri put salt on the wounds as he scored in the 80th minute to extend his side’s lead to 2 goals. Steve Ambri did pull one goal back from the spot but MBSG eventually edged the contest 3-2 and collected the three points on offer.
Team News
MBSG would continue to miss Brendan Hamill against Jamshedpur
For the hosts, Brendan Hamill continues to nurse his vaginal ligament tear while Antonio Lopez Habas has a full-stacked squad in midfield and attack with the exception of Ashique Kuruniyan who has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
For Jamshedpur, there are no major suspensions or injury woes but head coach Jamil would certainly want to make a few changes to the starting XI after his substitutes worked wonders against East Bengal and helped the Red Miners stage a comeback and win the match 2-1.
Predicted Starting XIs
Mohun Bagan Super Giant (3-1-4-2): Vishal Kaith; Anwar Ali, Hector Yuste, Subhasish Bose; Deepak Tangri; Asish Rai, Manvir Singh, Joni Kauko, Sahal Abdul Samad; Armando Sadiku, Dimitrios Petratos
Jamshedpur (4-4-1-1): TP Rehenesh; Provat Lakra, Pratik Chaudhari, Elsinho, Ricky Lallawmawma; Nikhil Barla, Emil Benny, Jeremy Manzorro, Imran Khan; Rei Tachikawa; Daniel Chima Chukwu
Prediction
Both clubs have enough motivation on the table to want to go and conquer the three points in a crucial encounter. Jamil’s men would be eager to extend their winning streak to three matches while Habas would want his side to get back to winning ways after a goalless draw against league leaders Odisha.
The head-to-head record and form are in favor of Jamshedpur but the crowd in Kolkata would certainly boost the chances of the Mariners to continue their charge towards the ISL League Winners’ Shield.