Seeking their opening win of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 season, Punjab FC will journey to take on Bengaluru FC on the Sree Kanteerava Stadium within the eighth matchweek of the marketing campaign on November 30, Thursday.
The ISL debutants have endured an fascinating journey within the competitors thus far. They began off displaying potential, which included attracts in opposition to Jamshedpur FC and NorthEast United FC that was preceded by a slim 1-0 loss in opposition to FC Goa away from house.
Though these encouraging outings promised optimistic outcomes afterwards, their performances have arguably plateaued since then. Now, up in opposition to them is a group that final tasted an ISL victory on October 4 in opposition to East Bengal FC. With sides with practically comparable kinds clashing in opposition to one another, a carefully contested aggressive encounter absolutely beckons the Garden City.
“We bounce off the supporters, and the players do. And we want the supporters to bounce off the performance from the players. They’re going to show heart, work rate, desire and skill which will make it an enjoyable night for both the supporters and the players, no matter who we are playing,” Bengaluru FC head coach Simon Grayson had remarked earlier this season.
For Punjab FC, greater challenges await than weathering the resounding surroundings that the West Block Blues create. They have issues to handle in the mean time, which incorporates letting their foot off the pedal after getting right into a place of benefit in matches.
The group has settled for a draw and succumbed to a defeat after getting a lead of their final couple of video games in opposition to Hyderabad FC and Mumbai City FC respectively. Sealing the destiny of the sport lock, inventory, and barrel is one thing that they should choose up quickly sufficient to make their remaining 15 league fixtures depend.
What’s at stake?
Bengaluru FC
The Blues have been on the receiving finish of their very own errors currently, the newest being an personal purpose by the ever so reliable Aleksandar Jovanovic that disadvantaged them of three factors in Guwahati on Sunday.
The final time Bengaluru FC have been subjected to an extended winless run than the present one was a stretch of 5 video games (D1, L4) between October-November in 2022. What adopted later on was an epic story for the ages, with head coach Simon Grayson inspiring a turnaround that will probably be written within the ISL books for years to come back. In all means, he has to seed a equally stimulating ambiance throughout the squad to vary the momentum of their season.
Punjab FC
It is of utmost essentiality {that a} new group will get the backing of their supporters as quickly as attainable. As it’s, there are numerous challenges that can come their manner on this marketing campaign. However, the relentless and unconditional backing of a devoted group of followers provides sides an ethical assist that’s completely invaluable. Bengaluru FC are the runners-up of the earlier ISL ultimate, and a victory in opposition to them on the highway will get the Punjab FC trustworthy going and set the precise temper of their camp.
Key Players
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru FC)
The India worldwide goalkeeper has made 12.3 recoveries along with 2.28 saves per recreation in seven ISL 2023-24 appearances. The custodian has been vital in conserving the Blues within the recreation, pulling off an amazing transfer to disclaim Parthib Gogoi a possible winner within the 82nd minute of their faceoff on Sunday. Sandhu has additionally been pretty neat in his distribution, recording 58% accuracy out of the 29.14 passes that he has tried on a mean in each recreation. Sandhu may even be shouldered with the duty of spearheading the defensive unit, as Bengaluru FC will strive their greatest to keep away from any errors on the again and cap off a convincing, all-spherical outing on this recreation.
Juan Mera (Punjab FC)
The 30-yr-outdated Spaniard has been on the forefront of driving the artistic strikes of his aspect within the frontline. Juan Mera has tried probably the most dribbles (32) within the ISL 2023-24 and accomplished the joint-most (14), together with Sahal Abdul Samad (Mohun Bagan Super Giant). His free-flowing function throughout the frontline will hold the Bengaluru FC backline on their toes and so will his eye for a decisive move within the ultimate third. He has created one purpose-scoring alternative on a mean per recreation and has additionally netted and assisted as soon as in seven matches till now. Freshly again from the break, Juan have to be sharp and raring to trigger troubles to the house aspect along with his spectacular acumen.
Head-to-Head
This would be the first fixture within the ISL between these two groups.
Trivia: Punjab FC participant Leon Augustine is a youth product of Bengaluru FC and had a seven-yr-lengthy stint from 2016-2023 with the membership.
Team Talk
“The level of the ISL is growing all the time. Teams are closer to each other in terms of quality more than they have ever been. Anybody can beat anybody on a particular day. Last year, only Mumbai City FC and Hyderabad FC were in contention of winning the league whereas this year it’s going to be a lot more teams,” Bengaluru FC head coach Simon Grayson mirrored on the rising competitiveness within the ISL.
“For us, there are difficulties. We try to be competitive, apart from one game (against Chennaiyin FC), all the other games we have lost by a goal. Until now we have not succeeded to win any game. This has hurt us but made us to insist more in our work. The success will come,” Punjab FC head coach Staikos Vergetis admitted and mentioned within the pre-match press convention.
