Bengaluru FC will be up against Kerala Blasters FC in their Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 match at the GMC Athletic Stadium, in Bambolim, on Sunday. The Blues would be in search of a win to bring their campaign back on track, after the disappointing 1-3 loss to Odisha FC. Meanwhile, Kerala Blasters FC, who played out a goalless draw against NorthEast United FC, following a defeat to ATK Mohun Bagan in the season opener would be aiming for their first three points.
Bengaluru have won two, lost two and shared points in one of their last five matches, which also includes the matches from the AFC Cup group stage as well. The Blasters are winless in their last 10 ISL matches, with their last victory dating back to January, earlier this year, incidentally against Bengaluru FC.
Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters FC have played eight matches against each other, with the Blues ending up as winners in five of those matches. The Blasters have won two out of them, while the remaining one ended in a draw. In the last five head to head matches between these two sides, Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters FC have won twice each and shared the spoils in the remaining tie.
After an inspiring 4-2 win against NorthEast United FC in their opening game, Bengaluru FC slumped to a disappointing 1-3 loss to Odisha FC in the following one. As the score suggests, they have conceded far too many goals in the two matches combined, and Marco Pezzaiuoli needs to sort out the defence as soon as possible. In fact, they have been very vulnerable against counter attacks, in spite of a relatively experienced back four in the ranks.
Alan Costa and Musavu King have played only two matches together in the centre-back position, it would be interesting to see how they develop as a pair as the season progresses. Jayesh Rane had a quiet evening against Odisha FC, but Bruno Ramires has looked pretty solid in the central midfield position in both the games. Suresh Singh Wangjam, who has been so impressive for Bengaluru FC in the previous season, is yet to find his foot this term.
Prince Ibara was threatening throughout the last match, yet, goals eluded him. It was after the introduction of Cleiton Silva that the team was infused with an added punch in the final third. Considering both Ibara and Silva cannot play at the same time quite often, Pezzaiuoli needs to strike the right balance of sharing game time between the two, or else a centre-back has to be compromised, which is not ideal after conceding five goals in two matches. Even though Udanta Singh impressed in the opening game, Sunil Chhetri has had a very average start to his new season by his standards.
The 2-4 loss against ATK Mohun Bagan was not the ideal start, but their intent was visible throughout the game, which gave Kerala Blasters FC fans a glimmer of hope. However, the 0-0 draw against NorthEast United FC was a bitter pill to swallow for its faithfuls. In spite of creating golden opportunities to score, the Blasters couldn’t capitalise. Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Sahal Abdul Samad and Alvaro Vazquez could have all ended up on the scoresheet in the previous game.
Moving on to the positives, the duo of Enes Sipovic and Marko Leskovic were pretty compact at the heart of the defence in the last game, having denied the Highlanders a single shot on target. However, the Blasters would like their Indian midfielders to come to the party soon. Sahal Abdul Samad, Ayush Adhikari have been inconsistent, while Jeakson Singh has been slightly better.
Adrian Luna has been their most impressive player in both the games, but he lacks support and that’s an area of concern for head coach Vukomanovic who might have to sort out his priorities, whether to deploy Luna as the second striker (as done in the last game), or play him a bit deep, in the playmaking zone.
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