ISL 2020-21: All you need to know about ISL Pre-Season Friendlies

With the new season of the Indian Super League (ISL) just a few days away, teams have started to fine-tune their preparations by playing friendly games against their fellow ISL teams to gain the sharpness required.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, ISL clubs have so far played only friendlies against each other in order to maintain the sanctity of the bio-secure bubble that the players have been put up in. But they have been careful not to reveal too much about their plans for the season. All the friendlies so far have seen the clubs trying out various combinations of players.

FC Goa faced off against Jamshedpur FC in a pre-season friendly on Sunday, November 1, where new signing Ishan Pandita scored a late winner in a 3-2 win for Goa. FC Goa played five foreigners for the first half an hour while Jamshedpur played three.

Ishan Pandita scores late winner to give FC Goa a 3-2 win over Jamshedpur FC in a friendly on Sunday. David Grande and Mobashir Rahman scored for Jamshedpur, while Igor Angulo and Len Doungel were the other scorers for FC Goa.#Indianfootball #ISL #Preseason #Friendlies

— Marcus Mergulhao (@MarcusMergulhao) November 1, 2020

Meanwhile, the likes of Hernan Santana and James Donachie earlier played a few minutes of a pre-season friendly for Mumbai City FC against Kerala Blasters. In another match, Mumbai striker Adam le Fondre helped them beat Chennaiyin FC by one goal to nil. While Mumbai used four foreigners in their line-up, Chennaiyin played with an all-Indian line-up.

Additionally, Odisha FC are scheduled to play two pre-season friendlies, against Mumbai City FC on November 10, and Chennaiyin FC on November 15.

Odisha FC pre-season friendliesNovember 10: Odisha FC vs Mumbai CityNovember 15: Odisha FC vs Chennaiyin FC#Indianfootball #ISL #Preseason #Friendlies

— Marcus Mergulhao (@MarcusMergulhao) November 3, 2020

And finally, Bengaluru FC are scheduled to play pre-season friendlies against Mumbai City FC and Hyderabad FC, although the dates for the same have not been specified.

The seventh edition of ISL is all set to kick off on November 20 with a sizzling opener between ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters at GMC Stadium, Bambolim.