Odisha FC will welcome the A-League Champions Central Coast Mariners in the second leg of the Inter-Zone semi-finals in the AFC Cup 2024 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on Thursday, March 14.
Odisha FC topped Group D with four wins and two draws, picking up 12 points in the process. However, everything turned upside down for the Kalinga Warriors when they met the Mariners in the first leg of the semi-finals.
The Odisha FC faced a massive setback, suffering a 0-4 defeat over the Mariners. Regrettably, Odisha FC have won just one of their last five games across competitions and will look to turn the tables.
On the other hand, Central Coast Mariners are coming into this contest on the back of a 4-0 dominating win over the hosts in the first leg. Mikeal Doka looked in top-class form, with two impressive goals while Storm Roux and Ronald Barcellos added goals in the second half.
The Mariners would be brimming with confidence and they would be entering this game as hot favorites.
On that note, let’s take a look at the three players you could pick as captain or vice-captain for the ODI vs CCM AFC Cup 2024 match
Diego Mauricio (ODI) - 8 Credits
Odisha FC forward Diego Mauricio will be one of the shining lights for the hosts in this game. The Brazilian looked in decent touch in the first leg, having one shot on target. However, the lack of quality servicing failed to create an impact for Odisha FC as the forward was left isolated for most of the game.
So far, the striker has scored three goals in the AFC Cup and the hosts would be heavily relying on him in this big contest.
Angel Torres (CCM) - 8.5 Credits
The Colombians forward Angel Torres joined the Mariners just before the start of the AFC Cup 2024 on a two-season deal and he has been in brilliant form moving into the second leg.
In the ongoing AFC Cup, he scored two goals, while his best came in the A-League, hitting a whopping 11 goals, while he assisted on three occasions. The Mariners would be depending a lot on the forward in this encounter to find the net.
Mikeal Doka (CCM) - 9 Credits
The versatile Brazilian defender Mikael Doka has been in impressive form of late for his side Mariners. He accumulated two goals and an assist in the first leg of the inter-zone semi-finals against Odisha FC and he turned out to be a headache for the opposition.
Doka would surely be creating a lot of problems for the Juggernauts. In the A-League, he assisted four times and found the net once while in the AFC Cup, he scored three goals so far.