Indian Super League season four kicks off on November 17 with two-time champions ATK and Kerala Blasters FC facing each other at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata in what will be a repeat of last edition’s final. The league will feature a whopping 95 matches, ISL announced in a release.
The clash between two-time champions ATK and Kerala Blasters FC in the opener will also bring the seasoned rivalry between Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov from Europe to Indian soil. ISL 2017-’18 will see 10 teams in action, with the addition of Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC, which will result in a prolonged season lasting four months for the first time.
All 10 teams play each other in a home-and-away format in 90 games before the two-legged semi-finals which are scheduled to take place in the second week of March. Date and venue for the Final of the 2017-’18 season will be announced later. All league matches to be played from Wednesday to Saturday will kick off at 8 pm IST with Sunday featuring double headers at 5:30 pm and 8 pm.
The season’s first double-header will see a repeat of the 2016 Final between Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa in Chennai followed by AFC Cup 2016 finalists, Bengaluru FC getting their first taste of the league when they take on Mumbai City FC at Sree Kanteerava Stadium on November 19. The encounter will see India captain Sunil Chhetri face off against his previous club for the first time.
The season’s first Maharashtra derby between FC Pune City and Mumbai City FC will be played on November 29 at the Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune. Jamshedpur FC will play their first home match at the renovated JRD Tata Sports Complex Stadium against title holders ATK on December 1.
The 10 clubs have spent a total of Rs 132.75 crore in signing 77 international and 166 domestic players. Unlike previous seasons, the maximum number of foreign players in the playing XI has been reduced from six to five from this season. This sparked off a beeline for Indian talent, resulting in over 32 Indian players getting multi-year contracts.
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