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After a humbling three-goal loss in Cochin, Marco Materazzi’s Chennaiyin FC have their task cut out in the second leg of their ISL semifinal against Kerala Blasters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. Kerala will be in buoyant mood after their first leg display and the think tank of David James and Trevor Morgan will be looking for more of the same from Iain Hume and co.
Venue and Kickoff
This will be the last game in Chennai in this season of the ISL, and Chennaiyin FC will be looking to give their fans a wonderful parting gift by booking their place in the final in Mumbai. Chennai have already played Kerala once here, when Bernard Mendy’s overhead kick gave Chennai a 2-1 win.
However, 2-1 will not be enough here tonight as Mikael Silvestre insists that Chennai need to remain positive throughout while still maintaining that balance between attack and defense.
Kickoff Time: 7pm IST
Team News
Chennaiyin FC:(4-4-2 Diamond) – Gennaro Bracigliano, Jairo Suarez, Bernard Mendy, Mikael Silvestre, Dhanachandra Singh, Bojan Djordjic, Harmanjot Khabra, Denson Devadas, Bruno Pelissari, Balwant Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua
Although Materazzi reported in the press conference that he had no injury worries to contend with, Elano was seen training away from the rest of the team. Wearing protection on his calf, the Brazilian did not take part in the routine fitness drills, leading to speculation that he might not feature in this huge game. As usual, Materazzi refused to divulge any information about the starting eleven or his strategy. But, it is assumed that Materazzi will make changes to his XI. Eric Djemba-Djemba had a mediocre outing in Kochi, and he is likely to be replaced by Chennai captain Bojan Djordjic. Alessandro Nesta struggled with cramps late in the first leg, and although Materazzi called Nesta the best defender in the league, he is likely to be replaced by Colombian right back Jairo Suarez, with Mendy moving back to centre-back.
Kerala Blasters:(4-3-3) – Sandip Nandy, Nirmal Chhetri, Gurwinder Singh, Colin Falvey, Jamie McAllister, Mehtab Hossain, Victor Pulga, Stephen Pearson, Ishfaq Ahmed, Iain Hume, Michael Chopra
Kerala arrived in Chennai late on Monday evening and didn’t train prior to the match. David James has no reason to be making any changes as his team putout a wonderful display on Saturday. Ishfaq Ahmed and Stephen Pearson provided wonderful support to Michael Chopra and Iain Hume, while Mehtab Hossain did a splendid job in neutralizing the prowess of Elano. Victor Pulga had a fine game in Kochi, as he pulled the strings in midfield, and enabled the frontline to express themselves. It is expected that Kerala won’t be as offensive as they were in the first leg as they will want to be solid in defense, and frustrate Chennai for as long as they can.
Key Battles
Jeje Lalpekhlua and Balwant Singh vs Gurwinder Singh and Colin Falvey
If Chennai are to put up a fight, it is imperative that they score at least one goal in the opening exchanges. In the initial stages of the tournament, Chennai scored early in most of their games, but as the tournament has gone on, they seem to have lost a bit of that mojo. Jeje and Balwant have been working extremely hard, but somehow the end product has been missing. All too often, Balwant has been guilty of choosing the wrong option, or taking on too many players on his own. Jeje had an easy opportunity early in the first leg, and had that been put in the back of the net, the story would have been completely different.
Harmanjot Khabra vs Stephen Pearson
While Khabra has been the workhorse in the Chennai midfield, Pearson has been the one pulling the strings for Kerala in the middle of the park. Khabra will have to stifle Pearson, and ensure he gets the ball to the likes of Djordjic and Pelissari as quickly as possible so that Chennai can threaten Sandip Nandy’s goal.
Prediction
With the away goals rule not being used in the ISL, Chennai need to win by a margin of three goals to at least take the game to extra time. But, the advantage lies firmly with the visitors, and I think Sachin Tendulkar’s Yellow Brigade will book their place in Mumbai despite a loss here.
Chennaiyin FC 2-1 Kerala Blasters
