The Kerala Blasters will be back in front of their home crowd after a gap of almost 21 days on the road and Steve Coppell, for one, is very pleased.
The Blasters manager said, "I don’t think that is right, we travel so much and the training facilities provided to us were very poor, I think that was a major disadvantage running into four games like that. We've now come through those four games, we lost just once but because it was the last game, every game has its significance. Hence when you lose, it’s the end of the world and when you win you think ‘Oh I'm going to be jumping’. We're very happy to be back in Kerala, we enjoy our home ground, we enjoy our home stadium and we enjoy our home crowd."
Kerala have struggled for goals and have only scored four so far and will be glad to have Bengaluru FC striker CK Vineeth back in the fold. But both he and Rino Anto are expected to be on the bench for this match, coming soon after their AFC Cup final loss.
Sandip Nandy, who had a horrendous outing against Delhi, may be replaced by Graham Stack. Pratik Chaudhari may also be drafted in at right back.
Such is the dynamic nature of the league that bottom-placed Goa could go level with fourth-placed Chennaiyin on points if they beat Kerala for their second straight away victory.
Zico's team did well in Pune, beating the Stallions 1-0 away but need to start winning more matches if they are to guarantee qualification to the playoffs for a third straight season. They are the league's second lowest goalscorers with five goals in this season's competition.
Robin Singh, who looked much sharper in his last outing, will be tasked with leading the line for Goa and will be ably supported by the likes of Rafael Coelho and Jofre. Zico reverted to the 3-5-2 in Goa's last match and may continue with the same. Mandar Dessai and Romeo Fernandes are expected to play on the wings.
Match Facts
Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi
Capacity: 60,000
Time: 7 pm IST.
Last meeting: FC Goa 1 - 2 Kerala Blasters, 24th October, 2016 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa
Head-to-head: Matches played: 5, Kerala wins: 2, Goa wins: 3
Key Battles
Azrack Mahamat vs Robin Singh: The ex-Espanyol midfielder has been one of the most influential Kerala players this season and is known to be a tough tackler and aggressive in the middle of the park.
Robin Singh, the ex-Bengaluru striker, is showing signs of getting back to his best after a solid outing against Pune, in which he was substituted early in the second half. Hasn't scored in his three appearances this season, but that streak could end tonight.
Kervens Belfort vs Romeo Fernandes: The Haitian has turned out to be one of the better imports for Kerala this season. The 24-year old scored against Goa last time around and his pace could prove to be a problem for the visitors.
The 23-year old is expected to play as a right wing-back and will be tasked with marking Belfort's runs on the flank. Did well last time around without being spectacular.
Expected Line-ups
Kerala Blasters FC: Graham Stack; Aaron Hughes, Cedric Hengbart, Sandesh Jhingan, Pratik Chaudhary, Josu Currais, Azrack Mahamat, Mehtab Hossain, Mohammed Rafique, Michael Chopra, Kervens Belfort, Mohammed Rafi
FC Goa: Laxmikanth Kattimani; Gregory Arnolin, Rafael Dumas, Raju Gaikwad; Joffre, Mandar Rao Dessai, Richarlyson, Romeo Fernandes, Trindade Goncalves; Rafael Coelho, Robin Singh
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