FC Pune City will lock horns with Kerala Blasters in match No. 22 of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2015 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi Stadium in Pune on Tuesday.
Kerala Blasters are coming into this match after three consecutive defeats and they are desperate to achieve that one good result. Blasters have only managed to win a solitary game and that too the victory came in their ISL 2015 season opener.
"I know David and I have a lot of respect for him since he's an organized manager. The team will be in good shape. But we will approach the game like we do every game – that is to try and win. We will play the game as best as we can and we will then respect Pune's best players. We know their strengths and we aim to take them very seriously," Kerala Blasters head coach Peter Taylor told the reporters on Monday.
On the other hand, FC Pune City are also coming into this match on the back of a loss but they are already positioned in the top half of the table. They have less to contemplate but also they cannot afford to lose against Kerala Blasters. That will allow the other teams to edge past FC Pune City in the points table in ISL 2015.
This has been a very open tournament so far and the points table of the ISL 2015 reflects that. Blasters, despite three back-to-back losses, can still turn on the heat. Although they are reeling at the bottom of the ISL 2015 points table, they are not too far away from the teams above them. A couple of wins can easily change the complexion of the league.
Kerala Blasters have a couple of injury concerns to deal with as well. Gurwinder Singh, who was injured during their encounter against Atletico de Kolkata, is still injured and will remain on the sidelines for their next couple of matches. Victor Pulga is also nursing an injury but gaffer Peter Taylor said that he is trying hard to make it to the playing XI against FC Pune City. Peter Carvalho is also injured and will not be available in their clash against FC Pune City.
Meanwhile, FC Pune City have no serious injury concerns and are looking pretty fresh to take on the likes of Kerala Blasters in match no. 22 of the ISL 2015 on Tuesday.
"I have to look at the characteristics of the players, proximity of games and the opposition that we are playing to make these decisions. I knew that we were going to play 14 games in 60 days. Gladly, I am happy to have options. It's a good headache. I'd rather have to decide who plays and who doesn't rather than have no players to play with. Strikers win you games and we've got abundance of talent and varied characteristics which is important," Platt told the reporters ahead of their match against Kerala Blasters on Monday.
Where to watch live:
FC Pune City vs Kerala Blasters is scheduled for a 7 pm IST (2.30 pm BST, 9.30 am ET) start. OK, hold your breath, these are the channels in India that will show this ISL 2015 Match 22 live -- Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD2, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3, Star Utsav, Star Gold (both Hindi), Asianet Movies (Malayalam), Jaya Max (Tamil), Suvarna TV (Kannada) and Jalsha Movies (Bengali). The ISL 2015 match can also be watched via live streaming online (free) in India, and over a 100 countries, on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
Viewers in the UK can watch ISL 2015 Match no 10 between FC Pune City & Kerala Blasters live on Star Gold, while audience in Canada can watch the Indian Super League 2015 game live on CBN and ATN.
Middle East and North Africa viewers can catch the ISL 2015 action live on OSN, with the live streaming option on OSN Play.
The viewers in the US and Australia can watch FC Pune City vs Kerala Blasters live on Fox Sports, while the online live stream option is on Foxsoccer2go and Foxtel.
Eurosport will show the Indian Super League match live in Europe and South East Asia, while the FC Pune City vs Kerala Blasters match can also be live streamed on Eurosport Player. The viewers in Sub Saharan Africa can watch the ISL 2015 action live on Zuku and SuperSport.
