ISL 2018-19: NorthEast United vs Pune City: Preview and prediction
What's the story
NorthEast United will host Pune City tomorrow in their return fixture of the Indian Super League. While the hosts are third on the league table with 27 points from 16 matches, Pune are seventh with 18 points from 15 matches. How will Pune fare against a side who have been so dominant this season? Here's our detailed match preview.
NorthEast United
Are NorthEast United ready for the encounter?
NorthEast United will be eager to win the match and register their names in the ISL play-offs for the first time in five years. They will be confident tomorrow at home especially after defeating second-placed Mumbai City with a 2-0 scoreline. Mislav Komorski will not play anymore this season and Colombian Janeiler Rivas will be taking his place in the central defense.
Pune City
How are Pune looking ahead of the match?
Despite dishing out poor performances earlier this season, Pune have shown some merit lately. In their last five matches, they emerged winners in four. Their only concern in the match will be Marcelinho missing out on the action as he has been suspended for receiving four yellow cards this season. Pune are now out of the play-off competition and should play for their pride.
Key players
Who will be the key players in the match?
Rowllin Borges will be the main man for Pune in the midfield, and a lot of their performance tomorrow will depend on him. Borges has been a great passer of the ball this season, with an accuracy of 83%. Pune will have to start keeping the hosts under pressure from the start, and their main men will be forwards Ian Hume and Robin Singh.
TV listing
Predicted lineup and TV listing
NorthEast United: Kumar, Reagan Singh, Gurwinder Singh, Grgic, Pereira, Borges, Leudo, Khawlhring, Gallego, Triadis, Ogbeche. Pune City: Kamaljit Singh, Golui, Diaz, Panwar, Khan, Stankovic, Carlos, Poojary, Kuruniyan, Robin Singh, Hume. The match is scheduled to kick-off at 7:30 PM, and will be broadcast on the Star Sports network and can be live-streamed on Hotstar and Jio TV.
Prediction
How can the match turn out tomorrow?
Considering this season's performances, NorthEast are clearly the favorites tomorrow. However, Pune have been impressive of late. and will want to make a mark by defeating Mumbai City and NorthEast United consecutively. NorthEast will have to bring out their best to walk out with a win tomorrow. We predict the match to go 2-1 in the hosts' favor.
Fantasy XI
What should be the ideal Fantasy XI for the match?
Choose Kamaljit as the goalkeeper keeping a 4-3-3 formation in mind. Gurwinder Singh and Sarthak Golui can be the central defenders as Reagan Singh and Mato Grgic play as the left and right backs respectively. Sahil Panwar, Adil Khan, and Rowlin Borges can be the midfielders, while Hume, Robin Singh, and Ogbeche take up attacking responsibilities.