FC Pune City and Chennaiyin FC battle it out in a top-of-the-table clash in the 28th fixture of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex.
After getting off to a poor start in the inaugural season of ISL, registering two defeats, a draw and a win in their opening four fixtures, Pune City have made an excellent comeback, recording two back-to-back wins in their last two games against NorthEast United and Atletico de Kolkata.
Their 3-1 win over ISL leaders Kolkata at the Salt Lake Stadium was especially very impressive as the Sourav Ganguly co-owned side had been unbeaten in the competition prior to this game.
And Pune boss Franco Colomba said that he is pleased with side's performances of late.
"We have a system now, I feel. It's not the same always, but there is a pattern now. All the matches are difficult and there's still a lot of room for improvement. I am happy though," the Italian told ISL's official website, indiansuperleague.com.
However, Colomba insists that his side cannot afford to be complacent against a strong side like Chennaiyin FC despite their good form of late.
"Chennaiyin have strength and quality, and they are fast. They have quality in players like Elano, experience in players like Materazzi and others. But we don't look at players, we look at teams, and tomorrow, it's Pune versus Chennai," he added.
Despite admitting that ISL is very difficult due to the tedious run of fixtures, Colomba says that he is looking to make his home ground a fortress.
"The competition is strenuous and difficult, with the way the fixtures are placed, but I wish to keep winning in Pune, it is important," added the Italian boss.
Pune will be boosted by the addition of former Arsenal and Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant, who recently joined ISL on a free transfer after Stoke City terminated his contract in January.
When asked what he would bring to the Pune side, Pennant replied: "Creativity, hopefully, and lot of supply to the big players in the squad who play upfront, like (David) Trezeguet and Dudu (Omagbemi)."'
Meanwhile, Chennaiyin will be hoping to win this game against Pune City and displace Atletico de Kolkata from the top of the ISL table.
The Abhishek Bachchan co-owned side are currently only a point behind leaders Atletico de Kolkata, who have played one extra game.
So if Chennaiyin manage to beat Pune City on Tuesday, they will replace Kolkata and become the leaders of the Indian Super League.
Due to this reason, Chennaiyin FC player-manager Marco Materazzi says that he is treating this game as a final.
"Tomorrow is important, it's like a final, it's the same for Pune too. So no, I don't see the need to rest any players. It is very important to achieve first position in the table at this point," the Italian told indiansuperleague.com.
Despite admitting Pune will prove to be formidable opponents, the former Inter Milan defender says that he is not going to be using any special tactics against them on Tuesday.
"They have an Italian defence and an Italian manager, so they are bound to be well organised!" Materazzi added. "But we don't have any special preparations, we're going to play the same. If you have good attackers, like us, you go out and attack, and if you have good defenders, you change the tactics accordingly."
Where to Watch Live
The ISL match is scheduled for a 7 pm IST (2.30 pm BST, 9.30 am ET) start with live TV coverage in India provided by a lot of channels including Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD2, Star Sports 3, Star Gold, Asianet Movies, Suvarna Channel and Jalsha Movies. Viewers can also watch the ISL match via free live streaming online on Starsports.com.
US viewers can live stream the action on FoxSoccer2go, while Europe viewers can catch the action live on Eurosport or their online Player. Middle East and North Africa viewers can watch the game on Bein Sports or via live streaming on Bein Sports Connect.
South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa audience can catch the ISL match live on SuperSport or their online option. Australia viewers can catch the match live on Fox Sports 2 or via their live video option online.
