Kochi: Kerala Blasters FC will look to arrest their slide when they play hosts to Odisha FC in the Indian Super League here on Friday.
After the glorious victory against their arch rivals ATK on the opening night of the season, the Kochi-based team has lost its way and suffered back-to-back defeats against Mumbai City and Hyderabad FC.
The onus will be on coach Eelco Schattorie to come up with a robust plan to ensure the team returns to winning ways on home soil. Memories from last season, where Kerala went on a 14-game winless run after their win over ATK in the opening match is still fresh in the minds.
Schattorie’s team cannot afford a repeat and badly need a win. Meanwhile, Odisha FC’s form graph has been in stark contrast to that of Kerala Blasters. After starting with two defeats, Odisha thumped Mumbai City 4-2 in their previous match and come into this game on a high.
They will look to build on that performance by trying to best an injury-riddled Kerala Blasters. The likes of Mario Arques and Gianni Zuiverloon are unlikely to be fit while Sandesh Jhingan was ruled out for the season earlier. But what would concern Kerala is that they haven’t been able to create many goal-scoring opportunities for star striker Bartholomew Ogbeche. (PTI)
