Odisha vs Chennaiyin: Preview and Prediction
Odisha and Chennaiyin will cross paths in ‘Match 93’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Wednesday. Both teams will be desperate to keep their semi-final hopes alive by winning this match.
Odisha has never really looked settled and the change in coaching setup has not brought them any luck either. The Kalinga Warriors are toiling in the seventh place in the standings, having accumulated 21 points from 16 matches.
On the other hand, Chennaiyin had a fantastic start to their season and were once prime contenders for the semis, but that seems to be a tale from the past now as they have taken a nosedive in the recent few weeks. With 19 points from 16 matches, the Marina Machans are occupying the eighth place in the league standings.
Current Form
Odisha has experienced every possible outcome in their last three matches – they have won, drawn, and lost a game apiece. Kino Garcia’s men are coming into this match on the back of a 4-1 drubbing against Mumbai City.
It was the Kalinga Warriors’ first defeat in over two weeks as they had secured four points from the two preceding matches. Garcia’s team won 2-1 against East Bengal whilst they secured a 1-1 draw against Goa.
There is hardly anything that the Chennaiyin camp can be optimistic about, as they are amongst the three teams to have not won any of their last four matches. They were handed a 5-0 humiliation by Goa in their previous encounter which resulted in the termination of head coach Bozidar Bandovic’s contract.
The two-time champions met defending champions Mumbai City before taking on the Gaurs and ended up losing that match by a narrow margin of 1-0. Prior to that, they were held to a 2-2 draw by East Bengal.
Head to Head Record
Chennaiyin holds the upper hand when it comes to head-to-head records, as they have won two of the five matches against Odisha. The Kalinga Warriors have emerged victorious on a solitary occasion, while the other two matches ended in stalemates.
The Marina Machans won the first match of this season by a 2-1 margin. Germanpreet Singh and Mirlan Murzaev were on the scoresheet for them, while Javi Hernandez scored Odisha’s only goal.
Team News
Nerijus Valskis could return in the Chennaiyin starting XI
Garcia is expected to make four changes to the team that lost 4-1 against Mumbai City, one of them being a forced change. Full-back Lalruathhara will be unavailable after picking up four yellow cards and in his place, Hendry Antonay is expected to get a start.
Besides that, the Spanish tactician can also change his goalkeeper with Kamaljit Singh coming in for Arshdeep Singh, who looked shaky against the Islanders. Hernandez also did not have his best of games last time out and can be sacrificed for Aridai Cabrera, while new signing Redeem Tlang can replace Nandhakumar Sekar.
Like his Odisha counterpart, Chennaiyin’s interim head coach Syed Subir Pasha is also expected to make a goalkeeping switch after Debjit Majumder’s poor performance against Goa. Vishal Kaith might make a comeback in Majumder’s place.
Lithuanian striker Nerijus Valskis could also be reinstated in the starting XI at the expense of Lukasz Gikiewicz, while in midfield, Edwin Sydney Vanspaul could get the nod ahead of Germanpreet Singh.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Odisha (4-2-3-1): Kamaljit Singh; Hendry Antonay, Hector Rodas, Victor Mongil, Sahil Panwar; Thoiba Singh, Isaac Vanmalsawma; Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Aridai Cabrera, Redeem Tlang; Jonathas.
Chennaiyin (3-5-2): Vishal Kaith; Reagan Singh, Slavko Damjanovic, Deepak Devrani; Ninthoinganba Meetei, Edwin Sydney Vanspaul, Ariel Borysiuk, Anirudh Thapa, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Mirlan Murzaev, Nerijus Valskis.
Prediction
While both sides have had a poor campaign so far, Odisha is slightly in a better position in terms of the current form. Hence, we have predicted a 2-1 scoreline in the Kalinga Warriors’ favor.