Either Delhi Dynamos or FC Goa are on the brink of history. One of the teams is going to make it to the finals of the Indian Super League for the first time in two years, and the big question remains -- which of them are more determined to seal the spot.
The ISL 2015 semi final second leg match between the teams takes place at the JLN Stadium in Fatorda, Goa, on Tuesday, 15 December. The match is evenly poised despite Delhi Dynamos recording a 1-0 victory over FC Goa at the national capital last week. Zico's side have the potential of overturning the result at ease in front of their home fans today.
The Goan side topped the league table of the ISL after all the 56 games this season, and if we look at their head-to-head record over two years, FC Goa have beaten Delhi Dynamos on four occasions in their five meetings.
Indian star forward Robin Singh may have got the better of FC Goa marquee player Lucio in the first leg, but this time, Robin has to understand that things may not be in his team's favour too much. Nevertheless, Roberto Carlos, who has over his playing career looked sharp both defensively and attacking-wise, has given the call to score as much as possible at Goa today.
"My team will always be attacking. And the match here will be almost the same as the last one. There will be no change in mentality. We'll shoot on goal. We need one more goal," Carlos told reporters ahead of the game.
Former Chelsea winger Florent Malouda seconded Carlos' statement and said that their sights are set on the final. "In the league stage, we lost twice against Goa, the first game here, we lost 2-0 and we have learnt from those two games and now we are thinking about reaching the final," the Frenchman, who notched eight assists in ISL 2015, said. "There is focus on the game and I'll make sure everyone in my side is focused like this. We came here to be in the final."
For Brazil legend and FC Goa manager Zico, it is all about displaying the best of their footballing abilities on the matchday to get the result. He says that both teams have the advantage to make it to the next stage, and today's match decides the fate of the preparation both teams have made throughout the season.
"It's just what you do on the day, for both the teams," Zico said. "Sometimes you take chances, sometimes you don't. We know everything that we need to know about Delhi and Delhi know everything they need to know about FC Goa. And at the end of the day, who does the best job will win."
If the scores are locked after the stipulated time of 90 minutes in the game, the extra time and (or) the penalty shootout comes into effect.
Where to watch the game
The ISL semi final second leg tie between between FC Goa and Delhi Dynamos is scheduled to kick-off on Tuesday, 15 December, at 7 pm IST (2:30 pm BST, 9:30 am ET).
Viewers in India can catch the game on 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 live streaming is available on Starsports.com and Hotstar.
Viewers in the UK, South East Asia, Singapore, and Hong Kong can catch the game onStar Gold.
Viewers in Canada can watch the game on CBN and ATN.
Viewers in the US and Australia can tune in to Fox Sports. The live streaming is available on Foxsoccer2Go and Foxtel.
Eurosport remains the destination for the viewers in Europe. The live streaming is available on Eurosport Player.
Audience in the Middle East and North Africa can also catch the ISL game on OSN, with live streaming option on OSN Play.
