Odisha FC welcome ATK to their adopted home, the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune, on Sunday. Josep Gombau’s men have recovered from a slow start to pick up four points from their last two matches and will aim to maintain the momentum as the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 returns after the international break.

“It is a very important match for us. I think that after the restart, it is important to start in a good way. We have four games in two weeks now. We had time to prepare for the game and I think the players are ready. We will do a good job,” said Gombau at his pre-match press conference ahead of the tie.

With regards to playing his first three home matches in Pune instead of Bhubaneswar, the Spaniard stated, “We are happy to be here. Thanks to the people of Pune who helped us to come here and to play in this field. I think that we are in a good place and we have to play three games in two weeks here. I hope that we have people come to the stadium to see our games. I hope that the people of Pune take this opportunity to see the Hero ISL games, and I hope they enjoy.”

Gomau also felt his team have done reasonably well so far this season, claiming. “I think that we started the league playing good football. The first three games I think we played quite good and the last one, in my opinion, was not good. But in the first two we didn’t get results, but this is football. We have played well.”

“I expect a very tough game. I think ATK is doing very well,” he added looking ahead to the ATK tie. “They are top of the table and they have very good footballers. We have to compete against every single team in this league. And I think it will be a good battle. We want to start our journey here in Pune with three points.”

The 43-year-old then went on to insist his team will be sticking to their philosophy, no matter the opposition. “We have our own way of playing football. We don’t change depending on the opponent. We have a certain way of playing and we will keep playing the same way. We are a team which is built for attacking football,” he said.

Midfielder Diawandou Diagne, who accompanied the gaffer at the pre-match briefing, also shared his opinion on the coming fixture. “We have a very good game, very important game because we are going to play a good team. Our aim is to win and get the three points, and I hope we do. We have worked two weeks for this game, and I hope we do our best to win this game.”

Read the Match Preview here.