After three consecutive draws in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20, defending champions Bengaluru FC face southern rivals Chennaiyin FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday. Bengaluru will be looking to secure their first win of the season when they face the bottom-placed side before heading into the international break.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Bengaluru head coach Carles Cuadrat seemed hopeful of registering his team’s first victory of the campaign with, perhaps, a little help from the home fans. “The last time we played Chennaiyin at home, we won 1-0 but it was a very tough match for us to win. It was our first game of the season (2018-19), so it was special. The supporters were happy as were we. They were helping us and giving us extra strength to win the game and get our first three points of the season. So, I hope it happens again.”

Both teams have found goals hard to come by this season, but the Spaniard opined that it was just a matter of time with the many chances his team has been creating. “They are just numbers. Unfortunately, they (Chennaiyin) have also not been able to score for several games in a row, I think. So, one day, they are going to break the number for sure. I just hope it's not against us. For us, we create chances with a lot of different players and that’s important. We created chances with Sunil (Chhetri), Manuel (Onwu), Raphael (Augusto), Juanan, (Harmanjot Singh) Khabra. Six to seven players could score goals so that’s good for the team.”

India take on Afghanistan and Oman in the FIFA 2022 World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers during the upcoming international break, with many players from Bengaluru set to join the Blue Tigers for international duty. Asked if it was a concern, the head coach said, “This happens in football, it’s not a problem. We are working well, and we have a fit team."

"One of the good things that we have here in Bengaluru is that we have a system to play and we have a lot of players who have been playing in that system for a long time. So, I think, that we saw that in the first three games. The consistency level has been very good in these games. We have managed to get control in the three games. Honestly, it could have been nine points,” he added.

Speaking about injuries to his side, the Bengaluru boss informed, “Albert Serran is the only injury concern in our side. He has a muscle injury and we hope he is back soon.”

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