With the league approaching its halfway mark, teams have broken up into groups – teams aiming for the title and promotion, teams looking at mid-table safety and the teams fighting off relegation. Bangalore City FC lead the way on goal difference from Sunday Boys at the top while Decathlon and Jain University are also in the mix for a title challenge.
9:00 AM – Bangalore Kop v Bangalore City FC
GW 5 kicks off with Bangalore Kop taking on Bangalore City FC. Bangalore Kop are yet to win a game but their performances have been much improved and a win looks to be around the corner but for them to escape relegation things need to turn around quickly. BCFC currently sit atop the table and look favourites for the title but with important clashes only coming at the end of the season they cannot afford to drop any points now.
BCFC looks odd on to win this game comfortably
Players to watch: Rodney Jude (Bangalore Kop), Pritam Maiti (BCFC)
Crystal Ball: Bangalore Kop (0) – (4) Bangalore City FC
10:30 AM – Amigos FC v Engineers United
Engineers United currently sit in fifth in the table but if they are to end up in one of the promotion spots they cant drop any more points but they do come up against tough opposition in Amigos who have improved game on game and are on the rise in the table. Amigos look to be an extremely balanced squad and they might be slight favourites here although whoever gets the opening goal might have the slightest of advantages.
Players to watch: Shri Raja (Amigos FC), Sandeep OH (Engineers United)
Crystal Ball: Amigos FC (2) – (1) Engineers United
12:00 PM – Vipers FC v Decathlon FC
Next up is an evenly matched contest between Vipers and Decathlon. Vipers have not been in the best form recently and have lost two in a row and need to turn things around quickly if they are to have any chance at a promotion spot. Decathlon have come into good form and have a potent attacking unit led by Benoit Le Bail.
Both teams like to attack and we have a likely goal fest on our hands.
Players to watch: Jeremy Noel (Vipers FC), Benoit Le Bail (Decathlon FC)
Crystal Ball: Vipers FC (2) – (3) Decathlon FC
1:30 PM – Phoenix FC v Bull Ring AFC
Phoenix goes head to head with Bull Ring next and both teams need wins to change their season around. We expect this to be a very open game given the need for results for both teams. Both teams have show glimpses of the talent they posses but they really need to make all of that individual brilliance work as a team.
A win here could be really beneficial to both teams in their fight to stave off relegation so we definitely expect some goals.
Players to watch: Sukanto Guha (Phoenix FC), Dushyanth Suresh (Bull Ring AFC)
Crystal Ball: Phoenix FC (3) – (3) Bull Ring AFC
3:00 PM – Oldmans Park v Jain University
The penultimate game of the day has Oldmans Park taking on Jain University. Oldmans are yet to win a game but look organised and lively on the pitch in recent games but coming up against tough opposition like Jain University will really test their mettle. This is a must win game for Jain if they are to catch up to their title rivals.
We expect Jain to come out on top but if Oldmans can even get a point from the game it will be a good result for the latter.
Players to watch: Niranjan Ravikumar (Oldmans Park), Vignesh Srinivas (Jain University)
Crystal Ball: Oldmans Park (0) – (3) Jain University
6:00 PM – Sunday Boys v Joga Bonito
The final game of the day has Sunday Boys playing Joga Bonito. Sunday Boys are second in the table but only because of goal difference from Bangalore City FC and they are one of the favourites for title. Joga Bonito havent been in the best of form but there might be too much talent in this team for them to go down a division.
Sunday Boys are clear favourites in this tie but Joga might just have a surprise or two up their sleeve.
Players to watch: Amal Shahid (Sunday Boys), Joshy Ferdinand (Joga Bonito)
Crystal Ball: Sunday Boys (4) – (1) Joga Bonito
