The true nature of the rapidly-changing fortunes in the ISL can be viewed through the Kerala Blasters' resurgence of late with Steve Coppell's side picking up eight points from four matches after losing their first two games.
The Blasters will be looking for only their second win in seven attempts against the defending champions when they host Chennaiyin FC in Kochi. Playing after a gap of five days, Coppell's side is not expected to make any major changes to the side that came from behind to beat the Gaurs 2-1 away in Goa.
Coppell called the Chennai-based outfit the best team of the league while speaking to the media ahead of the match. “I’m looking forward to it. If you look at Chennai, they’re arguably the best team. They won the league phase in the first year topping the table and they won the league last year. They have a strong squad and they have a formula. You want to play against the best team and see where you sit and it’ll be a difficult task and I see that in all their games they’ve played this year, they have got a variety of styles and it’s a challenge for the coach playing against. You want to do well as they’re arguably the best and you want to judge yourself against the best,” Coppell told reporters on Friday.
With Kervens Belfort in fine nick, Michael Chopra who looked a bit leggy in his last outing could be replaced by Antonio German with Coppell expected to keep the faith in the duo of Azrack Mahamat and Mehtab Hossain, both of whom have been crucial in their revival.
Chennaiyin, after a slow start to the campaign, look like a team getting back to their best having secured two wins and a draw from their last three matches. The champions will be happy after Jeje Lalpekhlua opened his account for the season in their 1-1 draw against Pune City.
Crucially for Materazzi, the backline seems to have a settled look for it with Eli Sabia proving a rock at the back for Chennaiyin, and forming an important partnership with John Arne Riise at the heart of defence.
Jerry Lalrinzuala has been one of the Indian success stories of this season's ISL and will continue at left-back with Mehrajuddin Wadoo at right-back. Goalkeeper Karanjit Singh may return to the line-up and that will allow Materazzi to play an extra foreigner in the outfield with Raphael Augusto likely to get the nod.
With two games in the space of four days, Davide Succi may be given a start after being introduced as a substitute against Pune.
Match Facts
Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi
Capacity: 60,000
Time: 7 pm IST.
Last meeting: Chennaiyin FC 4-1 Kerala Blasters, 21st November, 2015 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai
Head-to-head: Matches played: 6. Kerala wins: 1, Chennaiyin wins: 4, Draws: 1
Key Battles
Azrack Mahamat vs Manuele Blasi: Mahamat, the ex-Espanyol midfielder has done well in his four starts for the Blasters. The 28-year old from Chad has been solid in the middle of the park and has shown a good passing range.
Blasi, the 36-year old journeyman from Italy has a wealth of experience behind him and will play his 14th game for Chennaiyin. He will need to show guile with dealing with a powerful adversary 8 years his junior. Could be in for a tough evening. Fun fact about Blasi: the Italian has only scored 1 goal in his senior club career, way back for Fiorentina in the 2006-07 season.
Jeje Lalpekhlua vs Cedric Hengbart: It was a relief for not just the Chennaiyin fans, but fans of Indian football in general when Lalpekhlua scored his first goal of the ISL season. This could be the platform for the Mizo sniper to go on and match his tally of 6 goals from last season.
Hengbart, the 36-year old Frenchman has been a revelation for Steve Coppell's side and has easily been the best performer for the Blasters, if not the player of the league so far. He has been a rock at the back and has also pitched in with a goal against Pune City.
Expected Line-ups
Kerala Blasters FC: Sandip Nandy; Aaron Hughes, Cedric Hengbart, Sandesh Jhingan, Josu Currais; Azrack Mahamat, Mehtab Hossain, Mohammed Rafique, Antonio German, Kervens Belfort; Mohammed Rafi
Chennaiyin FC: Karanjit Singh; Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Eli Sabia, Jerry Lalrinzuala, John Arne Riise; Manuele Blasi, Thoi Singh, Raphael Augusto; Davide Succi, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Jayesh Rane
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