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ATK Mohun Bagan take on Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 opener on Friday. It is that time of year again as Indian club football finally resumes after months of inactivity in the top tier of the sport in the country.
The Mariners will be looking to recoup after a shocking AFC Cup exit post a 6-0 defeat at Al Nasaf (Uzbekistan). Meanwhile, Kerala Blasters come into this game after facing defeats to Bengaluru FC and Delhi FC which resulted in an early Durand Cup exit before the ISL season.
ISL 2021-22: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters FC Head-to-Head
ATK Mohun Bagan won two out of two meetings with Kerala Blasters FC in the ISL league stage. The two sides have played each other only twice since the merged side from Kolkata made their debut in the ISL in the 2020-21 season. The Mariners ran away 3-2 winners in the previous game between the two sides.
Kerala Blasters had earlier played the now-defunct ATK side in the ISL on 12 occasions. Both ISL teams got four wins each against each other while drawing the other four games.
ATK Mohun Bagan form: W-W-D-L (latest on the right)
Kerala Blasters FC form: W-L-L (latest on the right)
ISL 2021-22: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters FC Team News
ATK Mohun Bagan FC
Roy Krishna has a niggle of sorts but there are no serious injury concerns for the Fijian. Tiri is likely to miss the ISL opener due to a training injury which could change the shape of the back four in the actual match.
Kerala Blasters FC
All of the Kerala Blasters' players are available for selection. There have been some injuries to the team over the last few months but they are all fit to play the ISL opener on Friday.
ISL 2021-22: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters FC Predicted Line-ups
ATK Mohun Bagan (3-5-2): Amrinder Singh (GK), Sumit Rathi, Carl McHugh, Pritam Kotal, Lenny Rodrigues, Joni Kauko, Hugo Boumous, Michael Sooosairaj, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, David Williams.
Catch the latest ISL live scores here.
Kerala Blasters FC (4-2-3-1): Albino Gomes (GK), Nishu Kumar, Marko Leskovic, Enes Sipovic, Jessel Carneiro, Harmanjot Khabra, Jeakson Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad. Adrian Luna, Rahul KP, Alvaro Vazquez
ISL 2021-22: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters FC Prediction
ATK are arguably one of the strongest sides in the league and will come into the ISL opener as firm favorites to take away the three points. Kerala Blasters FC have a lot of groundwork to do and are unlikely to win on the opening day.
Prediction: ATK Mohun Bagan FC 3-1 Kerala Blasters FC.
