FC Pune City, who were impressive in their first match of the Indian Super League (ISL), are set to face NorthEast United at the Balewadi stadium on Friday.
Pune played some attractive football to defeat Mumbai City FC 3-1 in their first meeting, while NorthEast United were second best against a strong-looking Kerala Blasters, who won the game 3-1.
NorthEast United, who finished last in the first edition of the ISL, will be eager to come up with a better performance this time around, hence their second game against FC Pune City is a big one. Though Pune will start as favourites, NorthEast United have it in them to gel together as a unit and, if possible, stun the home team as well.
David Platt, Pune's manager, is aware that NorthEast United FC will be looking for their first three points of the season on Friday.
"I have no idea of their mindset, but they'll want to win. We can't rest on the last game. You can't judge from just two games. Now, you have a small opinion, but that's still incomplete and distorted. We need to wait and analyse who the strong teams are,'' The Hindu quoted Platt as saying.
It is going to be interesting to see as to what formation Platt will come up against NorthEast as FC Pune played with 4-5-1 against Mumbai. Key players such as Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Jackichand Singh, who are both busy with their national team duty, are still unavailable. After the Indian stars come back into the team, Pune will resemble an even stronger side.
NorthEast United coach, Cesar Farias, is aware of the huge task that his side face when his team squares off against Pune, who possess some big players such as as Tuncay Sanli, who scored a brace against Mumbai. To make matters worse for NorthEast, former Chelsea player, Adrian Mutu is also ready for selection.
"The match will be difficult. They were better in the last round and were fluid with the ball," said Farias.
Despite the loss against Kerala Blasters, who are one of the favourites for the title, Farias is happy with the mentality of his players and believes they need to play to their full potential on Friday.
"The mentality of the players is correct," said Farias. "It's a new opportunity. They are inclined to correct whatever happened in the last game.
"We have to compete and play to our maximum potential. Every game has different tactics. Now is the moment to seize the inspiration and prepare well to meet the opposition. We can get one or three points. Anything is possible."
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FC Pune City vs NorthEast United FC is set to begin at 7 pm IST (2.30 pm BST, 9.30 am ET), with live TV coverage in India on a number of channels, including Star Sports 2/HD, Star Sports 3/HD, Star Gold, Star Utsav (both Hindi),Jalsha Movies (Bengali), Jaya Max (Tamil) and Asianet Movies (Malayalam) and Suvarna TV (Kannada).
FC Pune City vs NorthEast United FC can also be watched via live streaming online in India, and another 159 countries, on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
Viewers in the UK can watch FC Pune City vs NorthEast United FC live on Star Gold, while Middle East and North Africa viewers can catch the action live on OSN, with the live streaming option on OSN Play.
Viewers in the US and Australia can watch FC Pune City vs NorthEast United FC live on Fox Sports, while the online live stream option is on Foxsoccer2go and Foxtel. Audience in Canada can watch the Indian Super League 2015 game live on CBN and ATN.
FC Pune City vs NorthEast United FC match live in Europe and South East Asia on Eurosport , while the match can also be live streamed on Eurosport Player.
