Jamshedpur FC will look to return to form with a win in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 when they face Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday. Jamshedpur were held to two consecutive draws at home after beating FC Goa away and they will hope to continue their good run on the road against a Kerala side in search of their first win since the opening day of the season.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, head coach Antonio Iriondo spoke about his team’s dependence on their Spanish attacking duo, Piti and Sergio Castel. “Maybe Piti and Sergio Castel were more important to our team than we thought. Probably another player will come in the squad for him and he will try to do his best. Hopefully it will be enough. We cannot say what could have happened when they were in the team, but we are missing them a little bit. We need to learn how to play without them.”

Two former Jamshedpur players Sergio Cidoncha and Mario Arques will be donning Kerala colours on Friday. When asked if Cidoncha and Arques being familiar with the Jamshedpur setup will make a difference, Iriondo said, “I do not think that will affect my team much. It’s my first time here. But what I can say is that they are a very good team. They have been lacking a little bit of confidence because of many injuries which might have affected them.”

“What we can see is that they try to play, they try to keep the ball. They have a good style of play. In these kind of short leagues, we don’t have time to make mistakes. Sometimes you need to work hard to get to the top. But Kerala can start winning any time because they have a good squad,” he added.

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