After an intriguing round robin stages of ISL 2016, the competition has moved into the crucial semifinal stages, where a small mistake here or there could prove to be disastrous. The semifinals will be a two-legged affair, and the first leg of second semifinal between Kerala Blasters vs Delhi Dynamos will be played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday.
Kerala made it to the semifinals after some good run in the latter stages of the competition, especially collecting seven points in their last three matches of the group stages, paving their way to final four. They will be keen to take that confidence into the first leg of the semifinals, and they have the ammunition to take them all the way in the contest.
As of now, they will only want to focus on this particular clash in Kochi and take a decent lead in second leg, which will be another important encounter. Kerala Blasters will also pin their hopes on some solid support from the home crowd, who have always been supporting their team to the core. As a result, they are always a strong team at home. They will once again look forward to the brilliant display of CK Vineeth, who has been brilliant in scoring goals for Kerala Blasters.
Kerala Blasters coach Steve Coppell wants his team to adapt quickly as the competition is no longer in the league stages.
"What's happened in the past doesn't equal the future. We got victories because we worked hard and scored goals at the right moment. Because we have done it in the past, there is no guarantee we will do it again," Press Trust of India quoted Coppell as saying.
"We have to prove ourselves again. This is a different competition. It's not a league format, it's a cup competition and we have to adapt accordingly. Whatever happens after the first game, it isn't over. We have to change our strategy just a little bit."
The Blasters might be playing at home, but they have a huge task against Delhi Dynamos, who have been the most entertaining side in ISL 2016, scoring goals. They were the best offensive team in ISL, scoring 27 goals.
In their two head-to-head meeting this season, the first match ended in a goalless draw, but Delhi emerged victorious in the second match. Gianluca Zambrotta, head coach of Delhi Dynamos, despite that record, will be aware of the threat Kerala possess. The Italian believes they are a strong team with their supporters in full voice.
"Usually when we play against Kerala, we are well aware that it's a difficult game, predominantly because of the strong support they have at the stadium. But we as a team will try and play our best, the way we generally play and we hope to play a very good game against Kerala," Zambrotta said.
Delhi have some experienced players like Florent Malouda, but Kerala must have drawn some plans against their attacking line, which comprises Richard Gadze, Kean Lewis and Marcelinho, who have been brilliant for Delhi this season.
The match has the ingredients of a classic encounter, and ISL fans can expect a cracker contest on Sunday.
Where to watch live
Kerala Blasters vs Delhi Dynamos semifinal is scheduled to kick off at 7 pm IST (2.30 pm BST). Here are the TV and live streaming options.
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
