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Zico’s side, who beat Delhi Dynamos on Sunday, welcomes their bitter rivals Atletico de Kolkata in their second home game of the Indian Super League. The clash between the two will be their fifth one so far after they met twice in the group stages and also faced each other twice in the semi-finals.
The Gaurs are currently in third place having won their opening fixture against Delhi Dynamos 2-0. On the other hand, the visitors registered a thrilling 3-2 victory over Chennaiyin FC in their season opener, which would have certainly boosted their confidence going into this one.
At present, both teams are just separated by goal difference.
Both sets of supporters will be desperate for victory for their team and there is a feeling that there is a lot more than just three points on the line.
Kick-off Time and Live Telecast
Live Telecast: StarSports 1 & 2, StarSports HD1 & HD2
Live Streaming: starsports.com
Date and Time: Wednesday, 7th October 2015 – 1900 IST
Venue: Fatorda Stadium, Margao – Goa
Team News
FC Goa
Zico will be looking to continue with the same team that won him the match against Delhi Dynamos.
The only change that we could expect to see will be Bikramjit Singh coming in place of Denson Devadas. Apart from that only Narayan Das and Pronay Halder out on National duty with India, which means that Zico has a relatively strong squad at his disposal with no real injury worries.
Atletico de Kolkata
Atletico de Kolkata, on the other hand, will have to deal with a few injury worries.
Their star defender Josemi, who missed out in the opener due to injury, could make a return in this match but still remains a doubtful starter. Another defender Tiri is also nursing an injury and will be unavailable.
Helder Postiga, who made a thunderous entry into Indian football by scoring twice in the opening match, will most certainly miss the match due to a hamstring injury.
Another big player missing the high-intensity affair in Goa will be Arnab Mondal, who, along with Rino Anto, will be away with the Indian National Team. In the absence of both established centre-backs, Ofentse Nato may have to continue as the makeshift centre back along with Augustine Fernandes.
Denzil Franco can fill in the void left by the exit of Rino Anto while Syed Nabi may start on the left side of the defence.
Probable line-ups:
FC Goa (4-3-3)
Elinton Andrade, Lucio, Gregory Arnolin, Debabrata Roy, Keenan Almeida, Bikramjit Singh, Leo Moura, Jofre, Romeo Fernandes, Mandar Rao Desai, Reinaldo
Atletico de Kolkata (4-4-2)
Amrinder Singh, Augustin Fernandes, Denzil Franco, Syed Rahim Nabi, Gavilan, Nato, Javi Lara, Borja, Baljit Sahni, Valdo, Ian Hume
Key Battles
Romeo vs Ofentse Nato
Romeo Fernandes continued his stupendous form from last year and looked extremely good in the first match against Delhi Dynamos, in which he was largely responsible for creating the first goal.
Romeo has the deadly combo quality of dribbling and running at defenders with pace. He will be a handful for the Kolkata defense considering that theywill be missing their main defenders at the back.
Ofentse Nato, on the other hand will be looking to contain the marauding Goan forwards in a role which he has been forced to play due to injuries in the squad.
Ian Hume vs Gregory Arnolin
Ian Hume was one of the most loved players from the last season of the ISL because of his tremendous work rate and untiring play. His performances with the Kerala Blasters was much appreciated by many and earned him a lucrative contract with last season's Champions Atletico de Kolkata.
He started for the Kolkata club in their first match of the season and was a constant threat to Chennaiyin, managing to get in a sublime cross for Valdo to score their 3rd goal.
He will come up against another star performer of last season in Gregory Arnolin, who has been a tower of strength at the back for FC Goa with his huge physical presence. The tussle between the two players should be great to watch.
Prediction:
The presence of a nearly full-strength squad for FC Goa means that they are likely to beat last season’s champions. The presence of the match at home makes it even more significant for the Gaurs, who will be looking to really get into their stride early on in this edition of the ISL.
FC Goa 1-0 Atletico de Kolkata
Betting Odds:
FC Goa: 6/4
Atletico de Kolkata: 2
Draw: 2
