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On the 22nd of October, in front of a packed house at the Furnace, Odisha FC, rechristened from the Delhi Dynamos, began a new chapter in their state’s fabled sporting history.
A few minutes into the encounter, Josep Gombau’s men hauled themselves back into the match and were also handed a shot in the arm, courtesy Bikash Jairu’s sending off. Yet, akin to the ailments that had plagued the Dynamos previously, Odisha too failed to find an adequate cure, meaning that Jamshedpur FC stole a march and ultimately, nudged through with a 2-1 margin.
A couple of days later, Gombau’s troops succumbed to their second consecutive defeat, this time in Guwahati, wherein their defensive organization again left an awful lot to be desired.
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And, though a thrilling 4-2 triumph at the Mumbai Football Arena on the 31st of October represented a potential watershed moment, it has failed to traverse the upward trajectory the club had envisioned.
Consequently, a combination of indecisive attacking movements and unreliable defensive play has taken place, thereby casting Odisha FC as one of the bottom dwellers in 2019-20.
Fortunately for them though, the scrappy nature of the ISL has meant that they’re still only a couple of successive victories away from again underlining their credentials as a top-four contender.
Jamshedpur FC, meanwhile, probably represent an outfit at the other end of the spectrum to Odisha. The eastern side began extremely efficiently with Sergio Castel distinguishing himself and finding the requisite support in Farukh Choudhary.
However, they’ve looked quite listless since the aforementioned Spaniard’s injury, meaning that the goals have dried up significantly. In the process, that has contributed to them committing too many men forward and subsequently, leaving the back door open for teams to barge through.
Unsurprisingly, points have been hard to come by recently and many fear that Jamshedpur FC might just morph into their 2017 and 2018 selves, wherein they squandered wonderful opportunities to get into the top four.
Thus, it seems slightly ironic that on the 27th of December, they take the field against Odisha FC, an outfit they dispatched with ease, thereby helping them lay down an early marker.
The hosts, on the other hand, face a side that had highlighted the former’s well-documented deficiencies in the opening fixture of the campaign.
Consequently, on paper, the game pits two teams that are searching for their own bit of inspiration, although both require it for completely different reasons. Yet, the end goal each strives to achieve is eerily similar, meaning that neither would not want to back down and hand the other the initiative, which in turn, could also significantly damage their own cause.
Hence, the time seems ripe to sit back, relax and savour what these two sides have to offer. After all, it could represent a decisive tilting scale for either in their respective ISL seasons.
Odisha FC vs Jamshedpur FC: Match Information
Date: 27th December, 2019
Time: 07:30pm IST
Venue: Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar
Where to watch: Star Sports Network; Hotstar (Live Streaming)
Odisha FC vs Jamshedpur FC: ISL Form Guide (Last five competitive matches; most recent first)
Odisha FC: L-W-L-D-D
Jamshedpur FC: L-D-D-D-W
Odisha FC vs Jamshedpur FC: Head to Head record
Total matches played: 5 matches
Odisha FC: 0 wins
Jamshedpur FC: 4 wins
Draw: 1 draw
Odisha FC vs Jamshedpur FC: Team News
Odisha FC don’t have any pressing injury concerns at the moment and the likes of Aridane Santana and Xisco Hernandez have developed a good understanding in the offensive third. Furthermore, Jerry Mawihminghthanga and Nandhakumar have provided the requisite thrust on the flanks.
However, their defence remains a concern and having conceded 14 goals in 11 matches, Gombau would want to iron out that flaw as swiftly as possible.
Jamshedpur, meanwhile, might still have to contend without their talismanic striker, Castel, meaning that the goal-scoring burden could fall on the likes of CK Vineeth, Farukh Choudhary and Sumeet Passi. Moreover, they would be sweating over the fitness of Piti, who hobbled off after being subjected to a dreadful challenge by Subhasish Bose.
Odisha FC vs Jamshedpur FC: Probable Line-ups
Odisha FC: Arshdeep Singh; Shubham Sarangi, Diawandou Diagne, Carlos Delgado, Narayan Das; Marcos Tebar, Martin Guedes, Daniel Lalhlimpuia, Nandhakumar, Jerry Mawihminghthanga; Aridane Santana
Jamshedpur FC: Subrata Pal; Robin Gurung, Memo Moura, Tiri, Narender Gahlot; Aitor Monroy, Issac Vanmalsawma, Farukh Choudhary, Piti, Sumeet Passi; CK Vineeth
Odisha FC vs Jamshedpur FC: Match Prediction
Odisha FC have quite a few potent attacking weapons at their disposal and Aridane in particular, can cause Memo and Tiri a few problems. Jamshedpur FC, on the other hand, have found the going tough in the absence of Castel and that trend could continue on Friday too.
Having said that though, Odisha’s defence still looks a massive work in progress and it is hard to expect to keep a clean sheet. Similarly, the visitors also look capable of producing the odd lapse of concentration, thereby enabling the hosts to make the net bulge.
Thus, one might not be too surprised if the game ends all square.
Match Prediction: Odisha FC 1-1 Jamshedpur FC
