Two-time league champions Kolkata take on the newly formed Hyderabad FC in Match 6 of the Indian Soccer League. Antonio Habas will be looking to register their first victory after narrowly losing out to Kerala in the season opener.
Kolkata were unlucky in the first game with a few missed chances and the penalty decision going against them. Although there were glimpses of some good gameplay from the attacking unit. Aided by Javi Hernandez & the homegrown Michael Soosairaj it is only a matter of time before their highly rated new signing Roy Krishna starts scoring.
The newly formed Hyderabad team is once again led by Phil Brown who had done reasonably well since joining. Although most of the squad is same there have been some new additions & the pressure will be on them to deliver the goods as Hyderabad have a special place in the history of Indian Football. Brazilian attacker Bobo has joined the ranks but the fantastic Marcelinho remains the most influencer player.
Although it is still early, the race for the playoffs has already begun. Teams have started putting points on the board to get ahead instead of scrambling when the group stages come to a close. While Kolkata will be looking to go for all the way for a third championship title, Hyderabad would want to go through from the group stages to begin this franchise on a good note.
Predicted Lineups –
Kolkata: Arindam Bhattacharya, Pritam Kotal, Agus Garcia, Carl McHugh, Prabir Das, Pronay Halder, Sehnaj Singh, Javi Garcia, Michael Soosairaj, David Williams, Roy Krishna
Hyderabad: Kamaljit Singh, Asish Rai, Matthew Kilgallon, Rafa Lopez, Sahil Panwar, Adil Khan, Marko Stankovic, Marcelinho, Laldanmawia Ralte, Bobo, Robin Singh
Sportsguru Prediction –
Although it is the Pune team with a few changes, Hyderabad is still an unknown quantity. Kolkata seems like a formidable outfit. We are going with a 2-0 victory for the home team.
