After a three-match winning streak, Chennaiyin FC faced a setback in their last match against Mumbai City FC in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18. Chennai will be looking to get back to winning ways when they travel to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday to face Bengaluru FC. The Blues are yet to be beaten at home in their debut Hero ISL campaign and will pose a threat to the visitors, if not countered well.

Chennai’s head coach John Gregory shared his views on how he expects Bengaluru’s resistance to be, in the pre-match conference. “Bengaluru FC are on a very good run at the moment. I think that Albert (Roca) is very fortunate to have a team that have been together for quite a long time. They do have a slight advantage over the other teams because of that. Since they have gone to the top of the league, they are now the target that everyone is aiming for. It can be easy to get to the top of the league, but to stay there is the more difficult part. We come up against a team that is three points ahead of us and we will be looking to take all three points against them. It has got all the hallmarks of being a fantastic football match. In Miku, they have got a striker who is scoring regularly so it is important to keep him quiet. But we are looking forward to the game very much,” he said.

When asked if he would stick to his own style of play while facing such a strong team or adapt to the opponent’s approach, he explained, “Whatever situation arises. I have seen Bengaluru play on numerous occasions this season and they like to play a high-pressing game and they like to keep possession. I think Albert has built a team where every outfield player is comfortable in possession of the ball. From that point of view, we need to be able to expect that kind of match from Bengaluru tomorrow. I don’t think you will be seeing too much of the ball in the air tomorrow. And in a surface like this, it will be an interesting game.”

In their previous match against Mumbai, a 60th-minute penalty decided the course of events and eventually inflicted defeat on Chennai. Speaking about how his team hope to bounce back after the disappointment, the Englishman concluded, “It takes a little while. It probably takes a little while longer for me than for the players. They have each other, but I am on my own. It took me a good 48 hours to try and get that bad taste out of my mouth. But my job is to pick the boys up, dust themselves off and get ready for the next game. I have an outstanding bunch of players, and all 25 of them are fit. So, we got it out of our system and just re-focused. Certainly, my players are a 100% determined to make up for last match’s disappointing result.”