ISL 2016: With a tight league, who will make it to the final four?

As the Indian Super League enters the business end of the league stage, things are getting very tight at the top with only three points separating the teams at fourth to eighth in the table.

With the league approaching the three-fourths mark, the race for play-off spots is heating up. All the teams are still in with a mathematical chance of making the play-offs. All the teams have played at least nine matches with Atletico de Kolkata, Pune City, NorthEast United FC and Chennaiyin FC having one match in hand on their counterparts.

We take a look at the team’s remaining fixtures and what could happen at the end of the group stage.

Delhi Dynamos

Position: #1

Remaining fixtures: FC Pune City (Away), FC Goa (Home), NorthEast United FC (A), Mumbai City (A)

In the third season of the league, goals have come at a premium. The Dynamos have proven to be the exception to the rule and have scored seven more goals than the next highest, Atletico de Kolkata, who have 11 to the Dynamos’ 18.

Anas Edathodika’s return from injury has made them tougher to beat and the Dynamos have only lost a single game this season, 1-0 away to Atletico. In their last match against ATK, they went down to 10 men and trailed by a goal twice, only to salvage a 2-2 draw.

Kean Lewis, Marcelinho and Florent Malouda have proven to be effective in ISL 3 and should see Delhi through to the playoffs.

Verdict: Comfortable progress to the next stage. They do have three away matches left, but with only three points required to reach the magic mark of 20 which could potentially see them qualify, they may have already done enough.

Kerala Blasters

Position: #2

Remaining fixtures: Mumbai City (A), Pune (H), ATK (A), NorthEast (H)

After a disastrous start to the campaign in which they took until the third game to register a shot on target and until the fourth to score, the Blasters have take 14 points from the last 21 available to catapult themselves to second place.

The return of CK Vineeth and Rino Anto seems to be have re-energised the squad with more than half of their nine goals (five) coming in their latest wins against last season’s finalists, Goa and Chennaiyin.

They seem to be peaking at the right moment and Cedric Hengbart and Sandesh Jhingan have kept things very tight at the back, the former being a contender for player of the season. With the return of marquee Aaron Hughes strengthening things at the back further, the beaten finalists from the first season should in all probability progress to the next round.

Verdict: Three of their four wins have come at home and they have two remaining games in Kochi against Pune and struggling NorthEast. It could be tight, but with 15 points in the bank, it looks like home support could carry them through to the next stage.

Mumbai City

Position: #3

Remaining Fixtures: Goa (A), Kerala (H), Chennaiyin (H), Delhi (H)

They started the league well, notching up identical 1-0 wins in their first two matches, but have slipped away winning only two of their next eight matches.

Alexandre Guimares’s men have kept four clean sheets, but they have struggled for fluency in front of goal, scoring only nine in 10 matches, three of those coming in a 3-3 draw against Delhi.

The return of Sunil Chhetri and Udanta Singh should shore up the attack and the Bengaluru FC skipper will expect to start the next match. All four of their matches have been 1-0 wins and Mumbai matches have generally turned out to be tight affairs.

Verdict: Three home matches left, with two of them against strong Kerala and Delhi outfits. Defending champions Chennaiyin won’t make it any easier either. Possibly the toughest one to predict, but it could go down to the final matchday. Winning against Goa will be key. Should they fail to do that, they might just miss out.

Atletico de Kolkata

Position: #4

Remaining Fixtures: NorthEast (H), Chennaiyin (A), Goa (A), Kerala (H), Pune (H)

An up-and-down season for the winners of the inaugural season. Too many draws (four) to frustrate Jose Molina’s side and that could end up costing them a play-off spot.

The highly-rated attack of Javi Lara, Iain Hume, marquee Helder Postiga and winger Sameehg Doutie have been erratic and have not really generated the sort of impact that they, barring Postiga, had in the previous season.

They have lost only two matches but have failed to seize initiative, especially, in front of a reduced home crowd at the Rabindra Sarobar.

Verdict: Winnable games against NorthEast and Goa will push them to the brink of qualification. It will be a tight fight against Pune for the last spot, one which they could just win.

FC Pune City

Position: #5

Remaining Fixtures: Chennaiyin (A), Delhi (H), NorthEast (A), Kerala (A), ATK (A)

Antonio Lopez Habas’ side have scored and conceded eight in the group stages but haven’t really shown enough in attack to suggest that they could reach the last four for the first time in their history.

All three of their losses have come at Balewadi and Eugeneson Lyngdoh’s return will allow Habas to tinker with the team. Jesus Tato and Mohammed Sissoko have been pivotal but the goals just haven’t come.

Verdict: Four away fixtures but they have won two on the bounce. Could be too little too late though as four games in 10 days follow for the Stallions.

NorthEast United

Position: #6

Remaining Fixtures: ATK (A), Pune (H), Chennaiyin (A), Delhi (H), Kerala (A)

The John Abraham-owned side started well but have faded away badly, being winless since matchday four. They have lost four games in a row, slipping from first to sixth in the table.

Their over-reliance on ISL top scorer, Emiliano Alfaro, who has scored five of their seven strikes, has seen score the least amount of goals in the competition. They do boast the best defensive record, but they do need some wins and clean sheets won’t just do.

Verdict: NorthEast have yet to face the top four in their last five fixtures. Nelo Vingada has been at a loss to explain his team’s form and their slump has come at the wrong time. Difficult to see anything, but a third season ending without a semi-final appearance.

Chennaiyin FC

Position: #7

Remaining Fixtures: Pune (H), ATK (H), Mumbai (A), NorthEast (H), Goa (A)

Despite bringing in John Arne Riise, Marco Materazzi’s men have capitulated at the back. It has been a trying season for the back-four, including the experienced Bernardy Mendy.

In front, Jeje Lalpekhlua hasn’t hit the heights expected of him and Davide Succi really hasn’t been able to fill Stiven Mendoza’s shoes, always a tough act to follow. Elano’s creativity in midfield has been missed too. They have the worst defensive record in the league and have conceded seven goals in their last two.

Verdict: They’ve been in this position before and won their last four league matches on the trot last season, en route to the title. One can never write them off, but it might be too steep a mountain to climb this time around.

FC Goa

Position: #8

Remaining Fixtures: Mumbai (H), ATK (H), Delhi (A), Chennaiyin (H)

It has been a wretched season for Zico, who has claimed that his team has fallen victim to some contentious refereeing decisions, but his team has largely themselves to blame for a poor season.

They did beat fellow strugglers NorthEast in their last match but their poor start, which saw them pick up one point from their first four, could prove to be their undoing.

Robin Singh, returning from injury, has looked much fitter and sharper, but Goa’s midfield has failed to dominate games. Richarlyson is the only Goa player to contribute more than a single assist. Gregory Arnolin and Rafael Dumas have failed to impose themselves in defence.

Verdict: Go Goa Gone! Zico will not see his team make a third straight playoff appearance. All games are a must-win from this point.