The New Year always brings new hope to the Indian Super League (ISL). For the leaders, it’s an opportunity to solidify their position further, while for the strugglers, it’s a chance to turn the tide. Just ask Bengaluru FC, who won 10 straight games from January onwards in the 2022-23 season to reach the final, after winning just three of their first 12.

Conversely, top teams can easily lose momentum, as seen with Kerala Blasters FC, who ended 2023 on top of the table but managed to win only two of their 10 league games in 2024, ultimately finishing fifth in the final standings.

Also Read: Key trends emerge from the first half of ISL 2024-25

With this in mind, let’s examine the fixtures for each team in January and explore what historical head-to-head records and current form suggest. Utilizing the Opta Power Rankings, we can quantify how easy or challenging each team’s January schedule might be. Here’s a look at the fixture difficulty for each team in the first month of 2025.

Team	Game #1		Game #2		Game #3		Game #4		Game #5		Avg Rating
	Opp.	Rating	Opp.	Rating	Opp.	Rating	Opp.	Rating	Opp.	Rating
Mumbai City FC	EBFC	59.1	JFC	60.1	PFC	60.1	MSC	55.1	EBFC	59.1	58.7
NorthEast United FC	MSC	55.1	PFC	60.1	FCG	64.5	KBFC	59.5	HFC	55.4	58.9
Mohun Bagan Super Giant	HFC	55.4	EBFC	59.1	JFC	60.1	CFC	58.5	BFC	62.7	59.2
FC Goa	OFC	63.8	HFC	55.4	NEUFC	60.9	EBFC	59.1	CFC	58.5	59.5
Bengaluru FC	JFC	60.1	MSC	55.1	HFC	55.4	OFC	63.8	MBSG	66.2	60.1
Kerala Blasters FC	PFC	60.1	OFC	63.8	NEUFC	60.9	EBFC	59.1	CFC	58.5	60.5
Odisha FC	FCG	64.5	CFC	58.5	KBFC	59.5	BFC	62.7	NA	-	61.3
Punjab FC	KBFC	59.5	NEUFC	60.9	MCFC	65.3	JFC	60.1	NA	-	61.5
Chennaiyin FC	OFC	63.8	MSC	55.1	MBSG	66.2	FCG	64.5	KBFC	59.5	61.8
Mohammedan FC	NEUFC	60.9	BFC	62.7	CFC	58.5	MCFC	65.3	NA	-	61.9
Jamshedpur FC	BFC	62.7	MCFC	65.3	MBSG	66.2	HFC	55.4	PFC	60.1	61.9
Hyderabad FC	MBSG	66.2	FCG	64.5	BFC	62.7	JFC	60.1	NEUFC	60.9	62.9
East Bengal FC	MCFC	65.3	MBSG	66.2	FCG	64.5	KBFC	59.5	MCFC	65.3	64.2

Mumbai City FC – EBFC (A), JFC (H), PFC (A), MSC (H), EBFC (H)

• Mumbai City FC have won eight of their last 10 meetings in their first competitive month of a calendar year (January 2023 and February 2024), losing just once (D1); however, that one loss came against Jamshedpur FC at home in 2024, and the Islanders are slated to play that exact fixture in January 2025.
• In the last four calendar years, only once did Mumbai City FC register multiple losses in their first five games of the said calendar year – 2022; this is the only year in this span in which the Islanders failed to reach the ISL playoffs.
• Mumbai City FC will play three games against Kolkata clubs in January 2025. They are unbeaten in their last three combined games against East Bengal FC and Mohammedan SC (W2 D1), keeping a clean sheet in all three.

NorthEast United FC – MSC (H), PFC (H), FCG (H), KBFC (A), HFC (H)

• NorthEast United FC are the only side scheduled to play four home games in January 2025; since 2018, the Highlanders have lost their first home game of a calendar year twice (W3 D1), a 1-2 loss to Bengaluru FC in January 2023 and a 0-3 loss to Hyderabad FC in October 2022.
• NorthEast United FC failed to win their first ISL game of a calendar year in each of the last five years (D1 L4), last managing to do so against Chennaiyin FC (1-0 win).
• In each of the two previous times that NorthEast United FC managed to reach the ISL Playoffs (2018-19 and 2020-21), they lost only two games in the second half of the season (January onwards).

Mohun Bagan Super Giant – HFC (H), EBFC (H), JFC (A), CFC (A), BFC (H)

• This will be the second instance of Mohun Bagan Super Giant starting a calendar year on top of the ISL table, last doing so in their inaugural year in the competition in 2020-21.
• Mohun Bagan Super Giant have failed to win their first game of a calendar year in each of their last three years (D2 L1), after winning their first such game in 2021 (2-0 vs NorthEast United FC).
• Mohun Bagan Super Giant have won 12 of their last 15 ISL games against their five opponents in January 2025 (D1 L2); they have won and kept a clean sheet against each of Hyderabad FC, East Bengal FC, Jamshedpur FC and Chennaiyin FC in the 2024-25 season, with Bengaluru FC being the only side to hand them a loss earlier this season (3-0 win at Sree Kanteerava Stadium).

FC Goa – OFC (A), HFC (H), NEUFC (A), EBFC (H), CFC (H)

• FC Goa have won each of their last two ISL matches to be played in January, beating Kerala Blasters FC (3-1) and East Bengal FC (4-2) in January 2023; a win against Odisha FC in their first match of 2025 will make this the first time that the Gaurs have won three consecutive January games in the competition.
• FC Goa have failed to win their first ISL game in January on each of the six occasions that they played at least one match in the first month of the calendar year (D4 L2).
• FC Goa have lost only one of their last 15 Indian Super League games against their five January 2025 opponents (W10 D4); their only such defeat was a 0-2 loss to NorthEast United FC on 21 February 2024.

Bengaluru FC – JFC (A), MSC (H), HFC (A), OFC (H), MBSG (A)

• Bengaluru FC have lost their first away ISL game (home of opposition) of the new calendar year in four out of five years, with the only exception being 2023; the Blues have, however, lost only one of five away games against Jamshedpur FC (W2 D2), a 1-5 loss in February 2019.
• Bengaluru FC are yet to face Jamshedpur FC this season but have won three of their four reverse games against their other opponents this month, with the only loss coming against Odisha FC (2-4).

Kerala Blasters FC – PFC (A), OFC (H), NEUFC (H), EBFC (A), CFC (A)

• Kerala Blasters FC are unbeaten in four ISL games against their opponents for the month of January 2025 (W2 D2); having lost seven such games in succession against them including a 1-2 loss at home against Punjab FC earlier this season.
• Kerala Blasters FC have lost six of their last seven away games (home of opposition) in January in the Indian Super League (W1), losing each of the last four of these games on the bounce.
• Kerala Blasters FC have lost at least six games in the second half of the season (January onwards) in three of their last four ISL campaigns; the only time they didn’t do so was in 2021-22 when they went on to play the ISL Final.

Odisha FC – FCG (H), CFC (A), KBFC (A), BFC (A)

• Odisha FC have never beaten FC Goa at home (D2 L1) in the ISL, while they are winless against all of Chennaiyin FC, Kerala Blasters FC and Bengaluru FC on the road (home of opposition) in nine such games (D4 L5) in the competition.
• Only once has Sergio Lobera lost his first Indian Super League game of a calendar year (W4 D2), winning each of his last three such games on the bounce; the only loss came against Bengaluru FC in January 2020 (1-2).

Punjab FC – KBFC (H), NEUFC (A), MCFC (H), JFC (H)

• Punjab FC won five games in the second half of the 2023-24 season, including each of their first two games of 2024, having won only one game in 12 till December last season.
• Punjab FC are one of two teams yet to register a draw in the ISL this season (also Jamshedpur FC); the record for the most games played by a team without registering a draw in an ISL season belongs to East Bengal FC – 16 games in 2022-23 (W5 L11).

Chennaiyin FC – OFC (H), MSC (A), MBSG (H), FCG (A), KBFC (H)

• Chennaiyin FC have won their first game of a calendar year in only two of their previous 11 such instances, with only one of those wins coming in the month of January (1-0 vs Jamshedpur FC on 2 January 2022); their other such victory also came in an away game against FC Goa (2-1 on 15 October 2014).
• Of the five teams they are set to face in January 2025, Chennaiyin FC have beaten only Odisha FC in the reverse fixture this season (3-2 on 14 September 2024), drawing one (2-2 vs FC Goa on 24 October 2024) and losing the other three.
• Chennaiyin FC have lost just one out of 14 home games in the Indian Super League against the three teams they are set to face at home in January 2025 (W6 D7); their only such loss was by a 1-3 margin against Mohun Bagan Super Giant on 7 October 2023.

Mohammedan SC – NEUFC (A), BFC (A), CFC (H), MCFC (A)

• Three out of four games for Mohammedan SC in January will be on the road; the Black Panthers’ only win this season has come on the road against Chennaiyin FC, who are the only side they will be playing at home in January 2025.
• Mohammedan SC are currently winless in 10 ISL games, the joint second-longest winless run for any side in their debut season in the league (also Punjab FC in 2023-24); they will be hoping to avoid levelling Hyderabad FC for the longest such run (14 in 2019-20).

Jamshedpur FC – BFC (H), MCFC (A), MBSG (H), HFC (A), PFC (A)

• Jamshedpur FC have never won their first ISL game of a calendar year (D4 L4), losing three of their last four such games (D1).
• Jamshedpur FC are yet to face Bengaluru FC this season but have won three of their four reverse games against their other opponents this month, with the only loss coming against Mohun Bagan Super Giant (0-3).
• In the 2023-24 season, Jamshedpur FC won their away games against all three sides that they are slated to face in January 2025 (5-0 v HFC, 3-2 v MCFC, 4-0 v PFC).

Hyderabad FC – MBSG (A), FCG (A), BFC (H), JFC (H), NEUFC (A)

• Hyderabad FC have lost just one of their last 16 Indian Super League fixtures played in the month of January (W8 D7); however, HFC are without a win in their last 18 matches against their five January 2025 opponents (D5 L13).
• Hyderabad FC’s January 2025 opponents have an average rating of 62.9 as per the Opta Power Rankings, indicating the second most difficult fixture list of all teams in the competition for the month.

East Bengal FC – MCFC (H), MBSG (A), FCG (A), KBFC (H), MCFC (A)

• The average rating of East Bengal FC’s opponents in January 2025 as per Opta Power Rankings is 64.2, indicating the highest fixture difficulty of any side in the first month of the calendar year.
• East Bengal FC haven’t won their first game of a new calendar year in each of the last three years (D2 L1), last doing so in 2021 (3-1 win vs Odisha FC); the Red and Gold Brigade failed to keep a clean sheet in any of these four matches.