In-form Hyderabad FC will look to beat Odisha FC for a second time this season when the two sides meet in Match 64 of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 at the Fatorda Stadium on Tuesday. Hyderabad kicked off their campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Odisha back in November and with two wins and a draw in their last three matches, Manuel Marquez will hope that his team can continue their good form against Stuart Baxter’s side.

After three straight losses heading into the new year, Hyderabad showed their qualities with wins over Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United FC, scoring eight goals in all. They followed up these performances with an impressive all-round display against table-toppers Mumbai City FC, holding them to a goalless draw in their last game.

“We have a very difficult game against Odisha FC. In the first leg, it was very different. They did not have players like Jacob Tratt, Cole Alexander, Vinit Rai or Jerry Mawihmingthanga. Odisha, in their last few games, have been playing better. I know that they are the last team in the table but the people following this league know that we can win or lose any game,” Hyderabad head coach Marquez said ahead of the game.

Odisha, meanwhile, suffered their seventh defeat of the season in their last match against Chennaiyin FC. Defensive lapses cost them two goals within a span of six minutes in the first half, and if truth be told, this has been plaguing them from day one this season having earned just one clean sheet so far.

“They are a very good team. They are one of the best teams [this season]. I like the way that they play. They can play both on transitions and with a striker like Aridane Santana in their ranks, they can go long if they want. They are one of the most complete teams and the coach has done a very good job. In the first match, we gave them a good game. I'm hoping that we can show them that we have improved and we can deal with them a lot better,” Odisha head coach Baxter said ahead of the game.

Odisha did the double over Hyderabad FC in Hero ISL 2019-20 and the side from Telangana finished at the bottom of the league table. With the tables turned in a big way in the ongoing season, one can expect Marquez’s men to take control of the game and strengthen their top-4 aspirations with a win on Tuesday. Odisha indeed face an uphill task.

Squads:

Hyderabad FC

Goalkeepers: Lalbiakhlua Jongte, Laxmikant Kattimani, Manas Dubey, Subrata Paul

Defenders: Akash Mishra, Asish Rai, Chinglensana Singh, Dimple Bhagat, Kynsailang Khongsit, Nikhil Prabhu, Odei Onaindia, Sahil Panwar

Midfielders: Abhishek Halder, Adil Khan, Sahil Tavora, Halicharan Narzary, Hitesh Sharma, Joao Victor, Laldanmawia Ralte, Lluis Sastre, Mark Zothanpuia, Mohammed Yasir, Nikhil Poojary, Souvik Chakrabarti, Sweden Fernandes, Roland Alberg

Forwards: Aridane Santana, Fran Sandaza, Ishan Dey, Joel Chianese, Lalawmpuia, Liston Colaco, Rohit Danu

Odisha FC

Goalkeepers: Arshdeep Singh, Kamaljit Singh, Ravi Kumar, Ankit Bhuyan

Defenders: Steven Taylor, Saurabh Meher, Gaurav Bora, Kamalpreet Singh, Mohd Sajid Dhot, George D’Souza, Shubham Sarangi, Jacob, Hendry Antonay, Rakesh Pradhan

Midfielders: Baoringdao Bodo, Cole Alexander, Isak Vanlalruatfela, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, S Lalhrezuala, Nandhakumar Sekar, Paul Ramfangzauva, Samuel Lalmuanpuia, Vinit Rai, Thoiba Singh

Forwards: Diego Mauricio, Manuel Onwu, Daniel Lalhlimpuia, Laishram Singh, Marcelo Pereira

Live Broadcast Schedule:

Hero ISL 2020-21 Match 64: Hyderabad FC vs Odisha FC

Date: January 19 (Tuesday)

Time: 7:30 PM onwards

Channels: Star Sports Network

Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar and Jio TV