The Chennaiyin defense was put to the sword by the high-flying Kerala Blasters, who were 3-0 winners, leaving Bozidar Bandovic’s ward to finish sixth on the table with 11 points from seven matches.
At Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin will know they have an opponent who is not too overconfident after winning their last seven matches.
The 10th-placed Blues started the season with a win, but haven’t managed to win a single since then, scoring only six points out of eight. They played out a 0–0 draw in their last game, reflecting a lack of creativity in the final third.
The Marco Pezzauli-coached team kept a clean sheet in the last game but lacked spark in general, which has been their bane for some time now. Captain Sunil Chhetri has not been at his best, forcing the coach to make him sit on the bench.
“Sunil is very professional, he works very hard and I see that luck is coming back to training, and it’s only a matter of time before he is back in the Games,” Pezzoli said on the eve of Thursday’s game.
“It is not difficult for me to tell Sunil that he is not starting. He is a professional who assesses himself, and he knows very well how to deal with these situations. He is an option for tomorrow as he is training well.”
Chennaiyin coach Bandovic stressed on the camaraderie of the team and said that it is very important to be together especially inside a bubble.
“The most important thing for me is that our players are fine. I am very happy with them. We are a team on and off the field and that’s very important.”
“We are trying to improve every game. The players are responding well and I am very happy with them. We have a wonderful atmosphere,” he said.
Chennaiyin have failed to score goals in their last four matches against Bengaluru FC and they will certainly look to reverse the trend on Thursday.
In nine matches between the two sides, Chennaiyin have won three, including the ISL final in 2017-18. Bengaluru FC have four wins while two games ended in a draw.
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