FC Goa take on bottom placed Hyderabad FC at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday. Goa are yet to lose on the road in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 and will look to keep that record intact when they go up against Hyderabad.

At the pre-match press conference, Goa’s head coach Sergio Lobera spoke about their clash against Hyderabad, and said, “For us, it will be a difficult match against Hyderabad. All matches are difficult because this season I think all the teams are good competition. As you can see in the last matches with consecutive draws, it is difficult to win. Hyderabad played well in their last match against Bengaluru FC.”

“I think over the last three years, this has been the most difficult season because the teams have signed bigger and better players. They are very competitive teams. If you want to win the league, you should think about winning all the matches. You need a very good squad. You need different players for different situations,” he added.

On his team’s performance this season, the Spaniard said, “I am very happy with all the players who have played in the last few matches. We are in a good position on the table after these matches. Now we will look forward to the next matches and try to win the points. I think football is about balance. The attack is as important as the defence. I think the team needs to improve in defence. We need to work on the balance.”

Lobera continued, “I think no match is easy in the Hero ISL. When you are thinking maybe one match is easy you become complacent. Hyderabad is a good team with very experienced players. I am sure this is not the situation they want to be in but unfortunately, they are.”

FC Goa defender Carlos Pena joined head coach Lobera at the press conference and he spoke about his team’s work rate, stating, “I think the work rate has been the same (as always). I think the performances of the other teams affects our team and the players. The other teams have also improved. They have done their homework. I think we are working well. We are in a good position on the table. We will try to improve because there are always points on which we can improve.”

Now in his second season in Hero ISL, Pena has also noticed a rise in the level of football in the league. “Most of the Indian players are improving the level of the league,” he said.

Read the Match Preview here.