The Mariners have created historical past by recording one of the best ever begin (after 5 matches) to an ISL season with 5 successive victories on this marketing campaign. However, Sergio Lobera will carry with them contemporary recollections of a forgettable 5-2 loss that Juan Ferrando’s workforce succumbed to towards the Juggernauts at this venue of their AFC Cup encounter final week.
That consequence was an enormous aberration in what in any other case has been an impeccable season for Mohun Bagan Super Giant thus far. Powered by a robust squad comprising a number of India internationals, Ferrando has a potential title-profitable unit at his disposal. What can gasoline the fireplace for his males is a a lot-wanted response towards Odisha FC, a workforce that doesn’t seem like placing a foot flawed anytime quickly.
With confirmed ISL winners, promising younger abilities and the tactical nous of Lobera with them, Odisha FC are regularly rising as one of many sides to maintain shut tabs on this yr. They have super offensive high quality to hassle the opponents on their day, however the Juggernauts layer it with good manoeuvring on each ends of the pitch to sneak in well timed wins every time wanted as nicely.
For occasion, Lobera began Roy Krishna over Diego Mauricio, who thrives enjoying towards Jamshedpur FC, of their final fixture towards the Red Miners. The consequence? Krishna scored the 56th minute winner to get Odisha FC the three factors.
What’s at stake?
Mohun Bagan Super Giant
The Mariners have assembled a star studded squad with excessive ambitions on each the home and continental fronts. Whilst the latter may be a difficult affair, they’d not need to slip up within the former at any value. Ferrando insisted that he wished a formidable combat again from his boys towards Hyderabad FC over the weekend after a dismal defeat to Odisha FC.
However, what would actually get this squad going and reinvigorate their spirits is a way of urgency and ruthlessness after they sq. off towards the Juggernauts. There is undoubted high quality inside their enjoying XI and on the bench to overcome Odisha, however the dwelling facet will probably be eyeing a press release victory greater than the rest on Wednesday.
Odisha FC
The Juggernauts are on a profitable juggernaut in the mean time, with 5 straight wins together with three within the ISL and two within the AFC Cup. Lobera has his males who’ve tasted ISL success earlier than, like Ahmed Jahouh, Krishna, Amrinder Singh, Mourtada Fall, and many others, and mixing them with some unbelievable rising prospects has resulted within the workforce discovering the right stability to beat obstacles coming their means.
The AFC Cup win towards the Mariners handed them the impetus that may propel the marketing campaign to better heights, and Lobera will probably be wanting to double upon that to make clear that Odisha FC are one of many contenders for the highest prizes this season. A win from right here will take them only a level behind the second-positioned Kerala Blasters (17), that too with a recreation in hand as in comparison with the Tuskers.
Key Players
Anirudh Thapa (Mohun Bagan Super Giant)
The star midfielder is present process a gradual initiation into the Mariners’ setup. He has clocked 360 minutes throughout 4 appearances within the league and his duties thus far have largely been restricted to the defensive finish alongside with setting the tempo with constant passes and shifting the ball up by way of the centre.
Lobera’s philosophy stresses on outplaying the opposition in the midst of the park and Thapa should be on the prime of his recreation to cease that from taking place once more. A dependable buyer shielding the backline, will probably be attention-grabbing to see if Ferrando asks him to take part in a better capability within the offensive facet of issues to optimise his capacity to drag off a purpose-scoring alternative out of nowhere, one thing that he tends to do often.
Carlos Delgado (Odisha FC)
The 33-yr-outdated centre-again has been a radical skilled on the again for Odisha FC, doing his defensive duties diligently and pairing up completely first with Mourtada Fall and now with Narender Gahlot. He has been averaging 40 passes per recreation at 87% accuracy and with 3.28 clearances on a median to his identify in each match.
Carlos Delgado will come up towards a Mohun Bagan Super Giant frontline that’s deadly when on tune. They create probabilities aplenty and convert them persistently to be sure that the opposition is worn out of the sport. Delgado could have a significant job up his sleeves, to not solely perform his tasks completely but in addition be the chief that your entire backline seems to be as much as at any level of concern.
Head-to-Head
Played – 9
Mohun Bagan Super Giant – 5
Odisha FC – 1
Draws – 3
Trivia: Odisha FC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh made the change to the Bhubaneswar-based membership from the Mariners in 2022.
Team Talk
“It’s not necessary to change a lot of things. In my mind the system is the same, it is to put the goals, find spaces, etc. It’s an important match, of course, but I don’t think we need to change a lot of things,” Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Juan Ferrando pressured on sustaining consistency of their enjoying strategy forward of the fixture towards Odisha FC.
“We are happy about the results that we have got in the last few games. But, we need to focus on the present. We are in a good moment. The team is working very well. We are growing every day, ready to improve some things obviously, especially to try to find the balance between attack and defence. The team was better in the last game but we are going to play against a very good team. They are the favourites to win the league because they have a very strong team. But we are ready. We showed everyone that we are ready for a big challenge and this is one of them,” Odisha FC head coach Sergio Lobera stated within the pre-match press convention.
