We are into that time of the ISL season where teams cannot afford to lose concentration and they have to play quality football to improve their standings. Both Chennaiyin FC and Atletico de Kolkata, who have four games left to play in ISL 2016 group stages, will be keen to emerge victorious and increase their chances of qualifying for the knockout round.
Chennaiyin FC and Atletico are two quality teams ever since the ISL started, but they have not been impressive this season. As a result, Kolkata lie at fifth place in the standings, Chennaiyin are sixth. A loss for either could spell trouble. With so much on the plate for both teams, a quality game is expected with Kolkata hoping to silence the crowd, and Chennaiyin keen to deliver in front of their home fans.
Defending champions Chennaiyin FC coach Marco Materazzi is under pressure and will hope that his star players take their game to the next level against Kolkata. Chennaiyin, after their back-to-back losses against Delhi and Kerala, defeated FC Pune in their last match to boost their much-needed confidence.
Chennaiyin emerged victorious last season after some dominant display, but this season, they have lacked consistency. It is high time that their players stand up and be counted. Chennaiyin FC will especially need players like Jeje Lalpekhlua and Raphael Augusto to fire his team to victory.
Atletico, who won the first edition of the ISL, needs to hit the right chord against Chennaiyin. The team must win matches, rather than pick up one point only. They have drawn five matches in ISL 2016, most in this edition so far. A win here for Kolkata will push them to the third position, at least, which will please their fans and boss Jose Francisco Molina, who believes the competition is too tight at the moment.
"The competition is too close for any team to say for sure that it'll make it to the play-offs," Molina said.
Molina will want his Ian Hume and Helder Postiga to bring all their experience against Chennaiyin FC to pick up three points. Also, their defenders have to be tight when Jeje has the ball in dangerous situations.
Where to watch live
Chennaiyin FC vs Atletico de Kolkata kicks off at 7 pm IST (1:30 GMT)
India: TV - Star Sports 1/HD1, Star Sports 2/HD2, Star Sports 3/HD3
Star Gold, Star Utsav (Hindi)
Jalsha Movies (Bengali)
Asianet Movies (Malayalam)
Asianet Suvarna Plus (Kannada)
Live streaming - Hotstar.
Europe: TV - Star Gold
Australia, USA: TV - Fox Sports
Canada: TV - CBN, ATN Bangla
Bangladesh: TV - Channel 9
South-East Asia: TV - Eurosport
Live score - Twitter
