After a strong start to the 2022-23 ISL campaign, Manolo Marquez’s Hyderabad FC have now failed to collect even a single point from their last two league games. The Nizams will look to bounce back when they take on Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, in a 5:30 pm kick-off this Saturday.
The Hero ISL defending Champions, find themselves 2nd in the league table going into this game, five points adrift of Mumbai City at the top. The Marina Machans, on the other hand, are seventh and could move up to 5th with a positive result in this tie.
Head coach Thomas Brdaric said that Chennaiyin FC will look to take advantage of Hyderabad FC’s recent struggle in the 2022-23 Hero ISL when they welcome them to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.
Chennaiyin FC head coach Brdaric reacts
Speaking about their opponents Hyderabad, head coach Thomas Brdaric said: “Hyderabad are an experienced team. Yes, they are struggling and we have recognized it but we never underestimate our opponent. It’s very important how we exploit the situation. We know how to play against them, and are very familiar with Hyderabad. We have a plan for tomorrow and we want to execute it in the best possible way.”
Even though Hyderabad have secured five wins from eight games, they could manage to score more than a goal in only two matches. When asked about it, Chennaiyin winger Prasanth said: “It means they’re defending well. We, attackers, have our plan and we’ll try to score more goals.” The 25-year-old Kerala-born player, who has a goal to his name this season from seven appearances, further said that the Chennaiyin players have put behind their close defeat to Odisha in the last match and are ready to face Hyderabad. “We all were upset [after the game against Odisha]. We analyzed our mistakes. It happens. We have worked really hard for tomorrow’s match. We have encouraged each other.”
Abdenasser El Khayati has been in form of his life. The Dutchman scored a brace in the match, taking his overall tally to four in his debut ISL campaign, and is currently the third-highest goal-scorer in the ongoing season, only behind Mumbai City’s Jorge Diaz (6) and East Bengal’s Cleiton Silva (5).
Hyderabad FC head coach Manolo reacts
Speaking to the media ahead of the crucial game, HFC Head Coach Manolo Marquez was all praises for the opponents. “Chennaiyin have very good offensive players. They are sometimes unpredictable but I like the team. They are a brave team, who play to win,” he said.
“They have players with a lot of experience in the ISL. The foreigners are all new but they are playing in front of their fans and I think it will be a difficult game for us. We have very clever players, who have a lot of experience in this league. We have trained quite well and are ready for what will be a difficult game for both sides,” the Spaniard added.
In their last match at the Marina Arena, Chennaiyin put up an impressive performance to secure a 3-1 win against Jamshedpur and they will look to replicate the same performance against Hyderabad. In terms of team news, Chennaiyin FC will continue to miss the services of its skipper Anirudh Thapa and a few other key players, who are out of action due to an injury.