FC Goa will look to continue their resurgence when they take on an equally revitalised Kerala Blasters in their Indian Super League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Wednesday.
Goa are on a good run of form at the moment, a run which has helped them to fourth place in the ISL table with 12 points from ten matches. A win over the Kerala Blasters on Wednesday in front of their home crowd will take them level with their opponents on 15 points.
"I think every game is a must-win game," said FC Goa manager Zico. "In football you don't have to be reckless or be in a hurry. We will be playing against a team who has been playing really well of late.
"We know the difficulties that we are going to face and we have 90 minutes to sort our situation. I want my team to come on to the ground with the same disposition, with the same desire to win which they showed in the last game."
FC Goa have gone on a four-match unbeaten run since losing 1-0 to the Blasters in the reverse fixture earlier this month. Zico believes the improvement has come about because his team have finally started taking their chances.
"As we continue playing, we become more solid and we corrected the mistakes that we made earlier," added the Brazilian legend. "But in the first round we were not playing badly.
"We created a lot of opportunities, but we didn't score. Now we continue to create opportunities and we have started scoring."
The Kerala Blasters will know if they complete a double against FC Goa with victory on Wednesday, they will be one step closer to sealing a place in the semifinals.
Unbeaten in their last five matches, the Sachin Tendulkar-owned ISL team will again bank on their excellent defence to thwart the FC Goa attackers, while also relying on the in-form Iain Hume to provide the cutting edge up front.
"Goa have turned it around in the latter part of the tournament," said Kerala Blasters player-manager David James on Tuesday. "If they win tomorrow, they will leapfrog us on goal difference.
"It's taken them a while to get going, like it did for us as well. We're going to be respecting Goa's form but we will be playing solely for a win."
A 64th minute strike from Goan Milagres Gonsalves gave Kerala the 1-0 win over Goa last time around, and James is expecting another tight encounter.
"It was a tough game last time around," added the former England international goalkeeper. "We've played sides who don't want to get beat and hence sit back to defend. Credit to Goa as they came out all guns blazing.
"I expect them to come out looking for the win this time too. Hopefully this match will have a lot of end to end action and I'm hoping this guy here [pointing to Milagres Gonsalves sitting next to him] scores again."
Where to Watch Live
The ISL match is scheduled for a 7 pm IST (1.30 pm GMT, 8.30 am ET) start with live coverage in India on 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.
South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa audience can catch the ISL game live onSuperSport or their online option. Australia viewers can catch the match live on Fox Sports or via their live video option online. Middle East and North Africa viewers can watch the game on Bein Sports or via live streaming on Bein Sports Connect.
