Matchday 16 of the Indian Super League will see Odisha face Mohun Bagan Super Giant in a clash of the table-toppers at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday at 5:00 PM IST onwards.
Odisha has been on quite the run in the league this season, having collected 31 points from 15 games so far and looks comfortable at the top of the table. Their only loss so far this year was in the Kalinga Super Cup final to East Bengal.
In fact in the league, Sergio Lobera’s men last lost in October and are currently the joint-highest goal scorers with Mohun Bagan Super Giant with 28 goals.
Under new manager Antonio Lopez Habas who joined following the departure of Juan Ferrando, the Kolkata side have managed to bring their league campaign back on track. They are currently on a 3-game winning streak and occupy the 2nd position on the table, with 29 points from 14 games.
Habas will be well aware of the importance of this fixture, as a win could see the Mariners leapfrog the home side and lead the title race with one game in hand over the Juggernauts.
Current Form
Coming into the game, Odisha have picked up 13 points from their last 5 matches and are currently unbeaten in 8 games at home across all competitions. They have also scored in every home game so far this season and have bagged a total of 11 goals in their last 5 games.
Odisha played out a 1-1 draw with fellow title contenders Goa in their last game, as Roy Krishna and Jay Gupta cancelled each other’s strikes. Since the league restarted after the mid-season break in January, they have notched up 2 wins – against Kerala Blasters at home and Hyderabad away and 1 draw, as mentioned before.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant carved out a brilliant 4-2 victory against Northeast United in their last fixture at home, with Liston Colaco, Jason Cummings, Dimitri Petratos, and Sahal Abdul Samad all finding the back of the net while new signee Joni Kauko bagged a hat-trick of assists.
Since the league restarted, the Mariners have only dropped points against East Bengal and picked up 3 wins so far – with the most notable one unarguably being against Goa away from home where Petratos struck gold and ensured a 0-1 victory.
Interestingly, Mohun Bagan Super Giant have also scored in each of their last 6 away games while they have conceded in only 2 of their last 5 fixtures. They have, however, scored 9 goals in their last 5 games which is an impressive feat.
Head to Head Record
Across all competitions, the two sides have faced each other 10 times. The Juggernauts have won just once, while the Mariners have 5 victories to their name.
The last time these two sides faced each other was in an entertaining 2-2 draw in Kolkata, where Armando Sadiku and Ahmed Jahouh cancelled each other’s braces. Diego Mauricio had picked up a red card at the end of that fixture.
Team News
Ahmed Jahouh will be unavailable for Odisha in this titanic clash, as he is set to serve his suspension for picking up 4 yellow cards in the league.
Pranjal Bhumij, Jerry Lalrinzuala and Amrinder Singh could all miss out the next game as well if they pick up another yellow card on the 24th of February. As of now, there are no major injuries in the team so it’s likely that Lobera picks his XI based on training performances.
Anwar Ali’s return to action will boost Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s chances
For Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Glan Martins is currently on 3 yellow cards, so he could find himself on the sidelines if he picks up another one. There are no fresh injuries of note currently and Anwar Ali’s appearance from the bench in the 4-2 win against NorthEast United was a huge boost for the Mariners ahead of the title run-in.
Predicted Starting XIs
Odisha (4-3-3): Amrinder Singh; Amey Ranawade, Mourtada Fall, Carlos Delgado, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Princeton Rebello, Lenny Rodrigues, Puitea; Roy Krishna, Diego Mauricio, Isak Vanlalruatfela
Mohun Bagan Super Giant (3-1-4-2): Vishal Kaith; Anwar Ali, Hector Yuste, Subhasish Bose; Deepak Tangri; Manvir Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Joni Kauko, Liston Colaco; Armando Sadiku, Dimitri Petratos
Prediction
There is no doubt that Habas and his men will be keen to do whatever it takes to ensure their momentum keeps going and they end the Kalinga Warriors’ 11-match unbeaten run in the ISL.
But, Odisha look impenetrable at home and they also have the most clean sheets in the season so far but one also has to account for the Mariners’ might. It looks like both sides will cancel each other out with another high-scoring draw on the night but Jahouh’s absence could prove to be fatal for Lobera’s men.