Kerala Blasters FC and Delhi Dynamos FC battle it out in the 27th fixture of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
Kerala have still not managed to blast their way into the top half of the Indian Super League table as they have been the most inconsistent team in the inaugural tournament so far.
After getting off to a very poor start in the ISL with successive defeats against NorthEast United FC (0-1) and Chennayin FC (1-2), the Blasters managed to get things in control as they managed a draw and a win against Atletico de Kolkata and FC Pune City in their next two fixtures.
After that they were again defeated 0-1 by Mumbai City, before recording a narrow 1-0 win against FC Goa in their last match.
Despite admitting that he would have liked to beat Goa by a bigger margin, Kerala player-manager David James says that he is satisfied with the result.
"It would have been nice to win 4-0, 5-0 but 1-0 was more than enough," he added.
James feels that his side were able to beat Zico's Goa due to the support of their fans.
"I can't think of such a noise for 90 minutes in any of the games I've played before. It was a truly remarkable atmosphere and I think that helped us win the game," said James, according to the Hindu.
The Blasters will again be counting on home support when they play hosts to the Dynamos on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Delhi Dynamos will be hoping to end their losing streak following back-to-back defeats against FC Goa (2-1) and Mumbai City FC (1-0) in their last two fixtures.
Despite the Dynamos being tipped to do well in the maiden ISL season due to the sheer quality of their squad, they haven't been able to get their act together and this has resulted in them slumping to the second last position on the table.
Apart from the bottom-placed FC Goa, the Dynamos are the only side to have recorded only a single win in the ISL so far.
Despite Dynamos boss Harm van Veldhoven earlier boasting that his side would be looking to outscore their opponents in the ISL, they have only managed to score six goals in as many matches.
The one positive in Dynamos' favour this season has been that they have only conceded five goals, the lowest in the ISL so far.
Although van Veldhoven admits that the Blasters will prove to be a difficult opponent on Sunday, he is certain that his side will be able to take full points if they play their cards right.
"We know that the game is going to be difficult, and each game is different, but in this league and in these conditions, it is very tough to judge a team's performance," the Dutch-Belgian boss told ISL's official website.
"We have to approach every game differently, so we will show Kerala respect but also know that we have the capability to take points off them. We don't have any injuries so we can use everybody, and that is a positive. Also, we are playing good football, but we have to take the chances that we create," said van Veldhoven.
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.
