In a repeat of last season’s final, defending champions Chennaiyin FC travel to the fortress of Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the second game of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2018-19 on Sunday. Sparks are sure to fly as the hosts would want to avenge the heartbreak they faced in their debut season, when the Marina Machans took home the 2017-18 trophy.

This season, Chennaiyin will be vying to become the first club in Hero ISL history to retain their crown, while the Blues will be looking to go a step further in their second term. With a fierce rivalry, passionate sets of supporters and quality players on display, this match promises to be an exciting end-to-end contest.

Bengaluru FC

The Blues have undergone a few noteworthy changes within their ranks during the summer. Albert Roca stepped down from his role as head coach, leaving his former assistant coach, Carles Cuadrat to take over the reigns at the club.

In defence, long-serving stalwart John Johnson left the club to join ATK while Subhasish Bose switched base to Mumbai City FC. But the signing of Rino Anto and Albert Serran will give their backline much composure, alongside the presence of Juanan, Rahul Bheke, Harmanjot Khabra and Nishu Kumar from last season.

The retention of star forward Miku will bring great positiveness amongst the Bengaluru fans, who would be hoping that the Venezuelan can recreate the same magic with club captain Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh and Dimas Delgado upfront. The signing of Bhutanese hotshot Chencho Gyeltshen and Spanish playmaker Xisco Hernandez will also give Cuadrat enough options in attack.

On the hindsight, Cuadrat has not had the greatest of starts as head coach of the club, as his side bowed out of the AFC Cup in August and also suffered a few defeats during their pre-season trip to Spain. However, a winning start will be the primary agenda for the Spaniard as he prepares for a long campaign ahead.

Here’s a look at Bengaluru’s 2017-18 season in numbers:

Chennaiyin FC

With quality running through the length and breadth of the squad, Chennaiyin enjoy the tag of being one of the frontrunners for the league crown this season as well. John Gregory returns to helm the club after a successful title-winning season in 2017-18 and thus, is wary of what threat the opponents can hold.

They have lost two influential players from last season in Henrique Sereno and Rene Mihelic, but Andrea Orlandi and Carlos Salom have been brought in as valuable replacements. Mailson Alves has been made the club captain and he will be having the supports of Inigo Calderon and Jerry Lalrinzuala at the back, to ensure no one finds a crack to score.

The midfield also has a number of players from last season in Gregory Nelson, Raphael Augusto, Anirudh Thapa and Germanpreet Singh, who understands Gregory’s philosophy well. Jeje Lalpekhlua will yet again spearhead their attack, with Salom and Mohammed Rafi alongside.

The South Indian outfit have a good record against their neighbouring rivals and will be hoping to cause them problems from set-piece situations, which worked effectively in their favour during the historic 2017-18 final.

Here’s a look at Chennaiyin’s 2017-18 season numbers:

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Bengaluru FC: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Juanan, Albert Serran, Rahul Bheke, Nishu Kumar, Dimas Delgado, Harmanjot Khabra, Udanta Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Chencho Gyeltshen, Miku

Chennaiyin FC: Karanjit Singh, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Eli Sabia, Mailson Alves, Inigo Calderon, Anirudh Thapa, Pandiyan Srinivasan, Raphael Augusto, Germanpreet Singh, Andrea Orlandi, Jeje Lalpekhlua

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Bengaluru were the only side last season to beat every other club in the league stages.
  • Chennaiyin have won 12 matches on the road in the league stages, only FC Goa have won more (13) in Hero ISL history.
  • The losing finalist in past seasons have failed to make it to the playoffs in the next season (Kerala Blasters in 2015, FC Goa in 2016, Kerala Blasters in 2017-18)

FAN SPEAK:

Which team will have the more effective partnership upfront?

  • Sunil Chhetri and Miku
  • Raphael Augusto and Jeje Lalpekhlua

Share your views in the comments section below.

Catch the match live on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar from 7:30 pm onward.

Related tags:

Bengaluru FCChennaiyin FC 2018-2019