Delhi Dynamos FC, with 18 points from 11 matches, are one of the favourites to reach the semi-finals of the 2015 Hero Indian Super League. The Lions, under the supervision of marquee player-cum-coach Roberto Carlos, are in Guwahati for their next encounter against NorthEast United FC at the Indira Gandhi Stadium on Saturday. If they win against the Highlanders, they will almost seal themselves a place in the semis. Brazilian forward Vinicius Ferreira de Souza spoke to indiansuperleague.com and previewed the encounter. Here are the excerpts.

Looking forward to the game against NorthEast United FC…

Yes, definitely, this is a very crucial game for us, we really need to win and whoever wins this game is going to be closer to the semis and this is our goal from the beginning. It’s going to be a very tough game, playing away is never easy but we're going to give a hundred percent and will go into the match with full confidence and will do what Roberto asked to do to win this match.

Apart from Mumbai City FC and Kerala Blasters, all the other teams are in the semis fray. How difficult do you think it's going to be?

This is a very competitive league but I'm not worried about the other teams. We are only focusing on our performance and whatever we can do to achieve our goals. So if Kerala or Mumbai are not going to get into the semis, that's not our concern. We've to face a side [NorthEast] that still has a chance so we have to go with a lot of motivation to win the game and that's all.

Whichever team wins the match has a very good chance to go into the semis but a loss would complicate things. As a spectator, what can one expect from the match?

When you play away, obviously you start with a little more defensive approach and yes we're going to be very careful, extra careful because it's going be a very tough game and we're not with our supporters here and they have their own supporters, the crowd is going be on their side. But obviously, whenever we've the control of the ball we're going to go offensive as well and we're going to try to score because you only win when you score.

Who do you think is the toughest player from the NorthEast side?

They have a lot of good players. There's no one individual that comes to my mind now. In the midfield especially, they're very fast. They're very talented and skilled. It’s going to be difficult but it's going to be as difficult as any other game. As I said, we're just focusing on ourselves. I don't think it's going to be one player that will get us in trouble. We play as a team and I'm sure they do the same.

NorthEast played their last match only two days ago and now they are playing you. So do you think fatigue will be a factor for them here?

Obviously, the fatigue factor exists. But it's not something that we have to think as an advantage for us because Chennai were in the same situation in our last match and they beat us. Deep inside we are focused and motivated and concentrated on winning the game. We cannot think that they're going to be tired. They want to win as much as we want. So it doesn't matter if they are tired because I'm sure they are going to give their best and so will we.