Kerala Blasters will be hoping to finish at least fourth and secure a home game in the playoffs as they take on Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League here on Sunday.
On Saturday, ATK Mohun Bagan blanked East Bengal 2-0 to climb to third in the points table displacing Bengaluru FC, who are now fourth. Kerala Blasters are fifth in the table.
Both ATK and Bengaluru have a better goal difference than the Blasters,who will need to beat Hyderabad by a three-goal margin, in the final fixture before the playoffs, to climb to the coveted fourth place.
Hyderabad, meanwhile, have confirmed second place in the points table.
In nine home games so far this season, the Blasters have won seven and lost two. If they win against Hyderabad FC, they will finish the league stage with the best home record this season. After losing against Mumbai City FC at Kochi in October, they have won six consecutive games at home.
“Playing in Kochi is something special. From the first moment, warming up, getting out of the tunnel for the game - it means a lot to all of us. We’ll get that kind of motivation tomorrow as well,” said Ivan Vukomanovic, head coach of the Blasters.
“We want to be a strong unit and show there’s a reason we’re unbeaten for a long time at home. We face a strong team, our opponents from last season’s finals. They are, with reason, in the playoffs for a second year in a row, and we’ll have to be at our best if we want to get the points and enter the playoffs with a good mindset,” he added.
Hyderabad FC have lost two out of their last three games. In their last match, the defending champions lost in their own backyard against Jamshedpur FC with a heavily rotated squad. However, the Blasters’ stellar home record could be matched by Hyderabad FC's superb away record this season. In nine away games so far, the defending champions have only lost twice.
Head coach Manolo Marquez said ahead of the game that he will field a more familiar XI, and that he expects the Blasters to play their strongest line-up.
The two sides have met eight times in the ISL, and have both won four times each.
(With agency inputs)
