In the previous four seasons that both the teams have been part of Indian Super League (ISL) bandwagon, it would have been almost impossible to believe that Jamshedpur FC will be placed third on the table with Bengaluru FC languishing at second spot from the bottom.
However, with the tournament nearing its halfway stage, that's exactly how it is at the moment as the Men of Steel prepare to take on BFC for the first time this season at Athletic Stadium in Bambolim on Monday.
Finishing sixth last season, the team from the Steel City of India has been impressive under Owen Coyle this time around. With most of the core group players staying on from last season, the teamwork is there for everyone to see.
Their only loss of the season came against defending champions Mumbai City, otherwise Jamshedpur have drawn two and won three including their rout of Odisha FC in their last game with Greg Stewart scoring the first hat-trick of the season. Stewart, their new Scottish recruit, who played for Rangers last season, have been in terrific form scoring four with equal number of assists in six matches and coach Coyle expects him to do even better in the coming matches.
"He aspires to do even better than yesterday and still wants to give more to the team. I love that quality of his. It makes him a wonderful player both on and off the field," said the English coach during a pre-match press conference on Sunday.
"He's showing his quality on the field, he can easily score goals and even create goal-scoring chances for others equally. Greg works very hard with the ball and against the ball for the team which is exactly what we need in an attacking midfielder."
Stewart has also formed a good partnership with Nerijus Valskis upfront and it will be interesting to see how the BFC defence, which has conceded 15 goals in seven matches so far, tackle them.
Speaking of the challenge that awaits them, Bengaluru coach Marco Pezzaiuoli said, "We need to defend better against JFC. It's not about defending by the defenders but about defending as a team. They have a strong striker so we need to protect the box."
Although they have lost four matches and have only five points in their kitty, Pezzaiuoli should take heart from the fact that they were able to play out a gritty draw against ATK Mohun Bagan in their last match.
But it's not only their defence that has been worrisome. Bengaluru's other big concern is Sunil Chhetri's form in front of the goal. The Indian skipper is yet to score in his seven appearances this season and has also missed two penalties. In the match against ATKMB, he came on as a substitute with five minutes remaining.
Although Chhetri has gone goalless for longer periods earlier, he would surely like to break the streak against Jamshedpur, who on the other hand will took keep their winning momentum going and grab the second spot on the table.
