ISL: Jamshedpur FC eye turnaround against Chennaiyin FC

Winless in last five outings following a four-match winning streak to start with, Jamshedpur FC find themselves five points adrift of league leaders Mohun Bagan Super Giant as Indian Super League (ISL) enters its decisive phase.
The Owen Coyle-managed side are sixth on the table with 15 points from nine games. With only four matches left in the league stage, the Red Miners would hope to turn their fortunes and push for the top two standings as they face a stuttering Chennaiyin FC in a home game at JRD Tata Sports Complex Ground in Jamshedpur on Saturday.
Madih Talal is likely to return to the playing XI and forge creative partnership with striker Raphael Messi Bouli as JFC would look forward to get going in the attacking third.
While they have been tight at the back conceding just eight times in nine games, centre-back Stephen Eze’s suspension and defensive midfielder Sourav Das’s unavailability through injury will make the job challenging for Coyle.
However, managing the Chennai-based side before, Coyle’s familiarity with Saturday’s foes will give him some advantage.
“It helps in understanding their players and strengths. They have very good players like Farukh Chaudhury, Irfan Yadwad and Daniel Chima Chukwu. But during the match, my only focus is to win for Jamshedpur. It will be good to see familiar faces, but both teams will be fully competitive,” the Scot said on Friday.
However, despite having attacking options like Yadwad, Chaudhary and Chima Chukwu, CFC have netted only six goals so far, while conceding 10. CFC forwards are yet to find rhythm, and that has resulted in dropping crucial points.
“In my opinion, the game against Inter Kashi was the worst game we played this season. Until the 75th minute, we were not in our elements, both in terms of attitude and in how we approached the match. We were slow with the ball, too predictable, and we could not match their energy,” CFC head coach Clifford Miranda said ahead of the clash on Friday.
Meanwhile, Miranda is aware of the threat the home side poses.
“We expect a very similar game (like Inter Kashi), but against a much better-quality opponent, one that can play direct, compete in the air, and also play football when they want to,” he added.
“If you look at the attributes of their players, especially their foreign contingent, they are all comfortable on the ball. That makes them even more dangerous, because they can mix both styles.”
Historically the Chennai-based side enjoys a better head-to-head record against their Saturday’s hosts, winning eight of the sixteen encounters across competitions. But struggling at 10th spot with only two wins in nine games this season, Chennaiyin’s current form doesn’t hold them in good stead going into the battle at the Furnace.
“As I said, we have to be ready. We have to fight, work hard, and operate as one unit. We need to take the game to them,” Miranda said. “We want to win the match and there are no two ways about it.”

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