Chennai, Mar 3:
Chennaiyin FC hosts table toppers Odisha FC at theJawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Sunday, in the Indian Super League (ISL) match, starting 7:30 p.m. IST.
It is a clash of contrasting forms, between a team that has not been defeated in the competition since October and a side that has lost four out of its lastfi ve matches.
The Marina Machans were well placed to contest for the playoff positions at the mid-season break. However, with 15 points from 16 games, things don’tseem all rosy for them at the moment. They are five behind the sixth-placed Jamshedpur FC (20), who have played two additional matches (18). Whilst the distance is within bridging limits, it needs an urgent turnaround of form at all costs.
Chennaiyin FC had their three-match-long unbeaten streak at home broken by Mumbai City FC last week. The last time they lost consecutive games wer edefeats to FC Goa (0-2) and Mumbai City FC (2-6) from October to November 2022, which is a run that the team will be cautious of avoiding in the forthcoming fixture. It has certainly not been a desirable season for the Marina Machans though.
Their 15 points from 16 matches is the second least tally they have accumulated at this stage of any ISL season, only after the eight they had garnered in 2018-19. In fact, the nine losses that they have suffered are also thes econd-highest after 16 matches in any campaign, after the 12 they hadfaced at this phase in 2018-19.
Chennaiyin FC certainly lacked ideas moving forward, despite the presence of a seasoned frontline. For instance, the team has netted 25% of its goals throughpenalties in this campaign, which is the highest such share from allteams combined. Six games in a reasonable enough time to turn thingsaround, and Owen Coyle is not averse to produce late comebacks either ?facets that should infuse confidence within the Chennaiyin FC setup.
Odisha FC has not tasted defeat in any of its last four fixtures against Chennaiyin FC, having won and drawn twice each in the time being.
“Weknow we are at our best when we play at home. It’s unfortunate that welost here to Mumbai City FC, but we had some good aspects of our gameplay, which we need to look at,” Chennaiyin FC head coach Owen Coyle quipped ahead of the match.
