CHENNAI: Chennaiyin FC have had a mixed start to the ISL season with four points from three games. Now they are back in Kolkata, where they had started off with a bang against ATK Mohun Bagan. This time around, it’s East Bengal — a team they have never beaten — standing in their way. Before this season, the two teams have played four times, all four ending in draws. For CFC, this is their chance to set the record straight and notch up their second win at the Salt Lake Stadium, traditionally a bastion for the two Kolkata giants.
East Bengal suffered a 2-0 loss against Bagan, a defeat that is bound to hurt them. And CFC coach Thomas Brdaric knows this is the right time to strike. “We got a bit of a break before this. We have analysed our previous games and have prepared well for the East Bengal match. We must be mentally strong to face any situation during the match and I am glad that my boys have that mental strength,” Brdaric said on Thursday.
Brdaric has continued with a traditional 4-4-2 formation so far this season and fielded the same set of players in the last three games. The only change in the starting XI was their goalkeeper Debjit Majumdar, who was suspended after receiving the marching orders during their second match against Bengaluru FC. It will be interesting to see if the German coach reinstates his first-choice goalkeeper Debjit in this match ahead of rookie Devansh Dabas, who played in their last defeat against FC Goa.
Scoring goals has been a problem for CFC with their main marksman Petar Slišković yet to open his account in the tournament. Ghanaian forward Kwame Karikari scored against Bagan in the first game, but hasn’t been as effective after that.
“It’s very simple — if you cannot score, you cannot win. In the last match, we created a lot of good chances but ended up conceding silly goals. We analysed that aspect after the match and want to improve in our next game,” said Brdaric.
Chennaiyin’s Dutch midfielder Nasser El Khayati, who replaced Brazilian Rafael Crivellaro in the squad, will get some game time on Thursday.
“Nasser didn’t have enough preparation. Now he has got some practice with the team and I hope to give him some game-time. He is a good player and we hope we will be able to deal with East Bengal,” Brdaric said.
