With Sachin Tendulkar set to cheer them from the stands, Kerala Blasters would look to straightaway set the tone when they lock horns with last season's laggards Northeast United FC in ISl here on Tuesday.
The Tendulkar co-owned was impressive in the inaugural edition, reaching the final where they were stopped by Atletico de Kolkata, while Northeast United FC, owned by actor John Abraham, managed to win just three games out of 14 to finish at the bottom of the table.
Kerala will count on Peter Taylor, who played for Spurs and Crystal Palace as a winger and also managed numerous clubs including leicester City.
However, the team will miss its marquee player Spaniard Carlos Marchena, a 2010 World Cup winner as he was forced to return home with an injury suffered during a practice session.
The players to look out for will be full back Jhingan, who was named as the emerging player of the first edition, Peter Ramage (England), Bruno Perone (Brazil) and goalkeeper Stephen Bywater, and national players like Cavin lobo and Peter Carvalho.
On the other hand Cesar Farias managed Northeast United Football Club have a talented marquee player in former Barcelona winger Simao Sabrosa, besides other foreigners from Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal.