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After months of loitering around, football fans can once again glue their eyes to the television set or their smartphones, with the Indian Super League (ISL) returning for its grand 10th-anniversary edition on Thursday, September 21. The opener will feature southern rivals Kerala Blasters FC and Bengaluru FC - who were part of the standout moment from the previous season - battling it out at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi.
The two clubs squared off in the ISL knockout playoffs in the 2022-23 season and the match ended in the most bizarre manner with the Blasters, led by their head coach Ivan Vukomanovic, walking off the pitch protesting an extra-time freekick scored by Sunil Chhetri.
The tempers have been flaring since then whenever both supporter bases have been involved, whether on social media or in stadiums.
Hence, without an iota of doubt, it's expected to be a blockbuster fixture. Both teams have had some drastic changes in the transfer window. While Bengaluru let go of the likes of Udanta Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Roy Krishna, and Prabir Das, the Blasters bid farewell to their poster boy Sahal Abdul Samad, Jessel Carneiro, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, and Harmanjot Singh Khabra. The teams have renovated their squads with some quality signings across the board.
But very little is known about the approach of either team. Bengaluru FC didn't field their senior squad in the Durand Cup, while the Blasters' stint in the tournament was cut short by their underwhelming display in the group stages.
Kerala Blasters FC vs Bengaluru FC: Team News
The Blasters have plenty of fitness concerns with Dimitrios Diamantakos returning to the training very recently. Meanwhile, Rahul KP and Bryce Miranda are away on national team duty. More will be revealed about the squad's fitness during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
The Blues too have multiple absentees who are away on the Asian Games duty. Rohit Danu and Sunil Chhetri are away with the Blue Tigers.
Kerala Blasters FC vs Bengaluru FC: Predicted Lineups
Kerala Blasters FC XI: Sachin Suresh; Prabir Das, Pritam Kotal, Miloš Drinčić, Aiban Dohling; Jeakson Singh, Danish Farooq, Adrian Luna; Daisuke Sakai, Kwame Peprah, Bidyashagar Singh.
Bengaluru FC: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Parag Satish Shrivas, Naorem Roshan Singh, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Slavko Damjanovic; Rohit Kumar, Suresh Singh, Javi Hernandez; Sivasakthi Narayanan, Curtis Main, Halicharan Narzary.
Kerala Blasters FC vs Bengaluru FC: Prediction
As mentioned earlier, there is a lot of ambiguity regarding the approach of both clubs and expect a few surprises. On paper, it's an equally contested tie but the absence of Sunil Chhetri might prove pivotal given his ability to shine under pressure. If Bengaluru FC can maintain the momentum from their previous season, the Blasters might showcase a few weaknesses worth exploiting.
Prediction: Kerala Blasters FC 2-3 Bengaluru FC
