With massive defeats in their respective games last week, Delhi Dynamos and NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) face off with one purpose of getting back to winning ways at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, here on Saturday.
Both the Indian Super league franchises suffered defeats by the same margin in their last game — the Dynamos were flogged 1-4 by Bengaluru FC, while the Highlanders were hammered 0-3 by Chennaiyin FC. Hence the clash on Saturday will be vital for the clubs to bring their ISl journey back on track.
Especially for NorthEast, who are yet to taste a victory this season (played a goal-less draw against Jamshedpur FC in opening fixture at home). Delhi, however, have a win in their kitty (2-0 win against Pune City FC). Nevertheless, three points remains the objective for both the outfits.
"I can't predict what's going to happen tomorrow (on Saturday) but our intent in the game would be to play better than last game and get our first win," said NEUFC coach Joao de Deus at the pre-match press conference.
While, DD coach Miguel Angel Portugal said: "We need to play with more intensity in tomorrow's game. It is something we couldn't do in our last game and after such a defeat, winning next match becomes important."
If history books are to be taken seriously, it's unlikely to expect a result on Saturday. In all of their three head-to-head clashes at the JlN, the matches ended in a stalemate (0-0 in 2014, and 1-1 in 2015 and 2016).
But with a complete revamp of management, squad and coaches on both the sides, previous stats won't be in effect, feels de Deus.
"We are going to face each other for the first time. Both teams have new coaches and new squad, so what happened in past will remain in past and won't affect the game. Anything can happen tomorrow," said de Deus.
Team formation
The new-look Delhi Dynamos made a great first impression in their opener with a 3-2 away win against a star-studded Pune. Gaffer Portugal has so far used a 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1 formation in both the opening matches. The midfield - that has featured trio of Matias Mirabaje, Paulinho Dias, and Vinit Rai so far - has played a key part in dominating midfield both the games. However, losing the ball in dangerous positions was a common sight in both the games.
"We had 60 per cent possession in the last game but it was meaningless as we couldn't make it count. We lost as many as 70 duels in the same game, which is not a good thing for us," said Portugal.
However, DD's mainstay so far has been the left flank in particular. The duo of lallianzuala Chhangte (winger) and Sena Ralte (left back) ran havoc in opposition defence with their pace and trickery. The trend is set to continue in coming games as coach likes to attack from the wings.
But Delhi's deficiency lies at the back as the defence has galloped six goals in two matches, which the coach feels has their main cause of concern.
"It's a problem for us. And it's not just a problem for our defence, it's a problem for the whole team in the way we defend as an unit. I am not happy with it so far. Our philosophy is to defend together when we don't have the ball and we haven't done it well so far and that makes me worry," said Portugal.
NorthEast, on the other hand, also plays a 4-4-1-1 and consist of an interesting mix of South Americans — mostly Brazilians and local boys in their line-up. Brazilians — such as Marcinho, Adilson Goiano (midfielders) and Danilo lopez (striker), along with regional lads such as lalrindika Ralte (winger), Seiminlen Doungel (striker), Robert lalthlamuana (left back), and Nirmal Chettri (right back), have been a prominent presence in the team. The Brazilian midfield duo of Marcinho and Adilson gathered everyone's attention with their performances in the first game.
Despite such an array of talented footballers at disposal of de Deus, the Highlanders are yet to open their goal account in the ISl 4.
On Saturday both the sides will look to do their best to get their season back on track.