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One of the ISL's biggest rivalries will be reignited when Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters FC lock horns in the second match of Saturday's doubleheader at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore.
After the infamous meeting in last season's playoffs, this rivalry has reached a new peak, and after their defeat in the opening fixture of this season, Bengaluru FC will want to take revenge against the Blasters.
Interestingly, Adrian Luna, who scored the winning goal for the Blasters and is also their talisman, won't play a part in this match after being ruled out of the season with an injury.
Form-wise, both teams enter this contest on the back of a win. While Bengaluru FC got one over Hyderabad FC, it was harder than they thought, with Sivasakthi Narayanan's screamer earning them a 2-1 triumph.
The Blasters' performance was much better as they showed tremendous spirit to overturn a 2-0 deficit to win 4-2, with a brace from Dimitris Diamantakos and a wonderful free-kick goal from Daisuke Sakai proving the difference.
Squads to choose from
Bengaluru FC
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Vikram Singh, Amrit Gope, Sahil Poonia.
Defenders: Jessel Carneiro, Nikhil Poojari, Chinglensana Singh, Naorem Roshan-Singh, Parag Satish Srivas, Aleksandar Jovanovic-II, Slavko Damjanovic, Namgyal Bhutia, Robin Yadav.
Midfielders: Ryan Williams, Shankar Sampingraj, Francisco Javi-Hernandez, Halicharan Narzary, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Keziah Veendorp, Lalremtluanga Fanai, Shreyas Ketkar, Rohit Kumar, Harsh Shailesh Patre, Monirul Molla, Ashish Jha, Ankith Padmanabhan.
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Rohit Danu, Sivasakthi Narayanan, and Curtis Main.
Kerala Blasters FC
Goalkeepers: Karanjit Singh, Lara Sharma, Mohd. Arbaz, and Sachin Suresh.
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Milos Drincic, Marko Leskovic, Ruivah Hormipam, Prabir Das, Sandeep Singh, N Huidrom-Singh, and Aibanbha Dohling.
Midfielders: Adrian Luna, Danish Farooq-Bhat, Jeakson Singh, Freddy Lallawmawma, Mohammed Azhar, Sukham Meitei, Vibin Mohanan, Bryce Miranda, Nihal Sudeesh, and Saurav Mandal.
Forwards: Daisuke Sakai, Dimitris Diamantakos, Ishan Pandita, Rahul KP, Bidyashagar Singh, Kwame Peprah, and Mohammed Aimen.
Bengaluru FC vs Kerala Blasters FC: Predicted Playing XIs
Bengaluru FC
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Nikhil Poojari, Chinglensana Singh, Slavko Damjanovic, Naorem Roshan Singh, Lalremtluanga Fanai, Rohit Kumar/Suresh Singh, Javi Hernandez, Ryan Williams, Oliver Drost, and Sunil Chhetri.
Kerala Blasters FC
Karanjit Singh (GK), Sandeep Singh, Marko Leskovic, Naocha Singh, Pritam Kotal, Jeakson Singh, Rahul KP, Daisuke Sakai, Vibin Mohanan, Fedor Cernych, and Dimitris Diamantakos.
Match Details
Match: Bengaluru FC vs Kerala Blasters FC
Date: March 2, 2023; 7:30 pm IST
Venue: Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore.
Bengaluru FC vs Kerala Blasters FC: Dream11 Fantasy Suggestions
While the Blasters may be 10 points clear of Bengaluru on the points table, they'll certainly walk into this game wary of their opponents' prowess, especially in a big match-up like this one. This game is one of the most unpredictable ones in the league, and both teams are pretty well-matched, especially with the Blasters' current injury situation.
There are plenty of good attacking options in both teams, with Javi Hernandez, Dimitris Diamantakos, Daisuke Sakai, and Sunil Chhetri the pick of the lot, and they'll also make the best captaincy picks.
Naorem Roshan Singh and Milos Drincic are the must-have selections in defense.
Fantasy Suggestion #1: Karanjit Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Naocha Singh, Naorem Roshan Singh, Milos Drincic, Ryan Williams, Daisuke Sakai, Javi Hernandez, Dimitris Diamantakos, Sunil Chhetri, and Fedor Cernych.
Captain: Javi Hernandez. Vice-captain: Dimitris Diamantakos.
Fantasy Suggestion #2: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Pritam Kotal, Milos Drincic, Naorem Roshan Singh, Ryan Williams, Javi Hernandez, Vibin Mohanan, Daisuke Sakai, Dimitris Diamantakos, Oliver Drost, and Sunil Chhetri.
Captain: Dimitris Diamantakos. Vice-captain: Sunil Chhetri.
