Bengaluru FC will be looking to leapfrog Jamshedpur FC in the 2020-21 Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) standings when the two sides clash at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco. Thursday’s clash between the teams will be the last match of the season for both teams and you can rest assured that they will be eager to end their campaign with a win.

Currently sixth in the standings with 24 points, Jamshedpur FC will be looking to complete the double over Bengaluru FC having already beaten them once this season. Owen Coyle’s men are no longer in the race for the top four but can ensure that they finish no lower than sixth in the points table with a win or draw against the Blues.

They will be confident heading into the contest after a win against Mumbai City FC in their last outing. Jamshedpur FC also enjoy a better head-to-head against Bengaluru FC having won three, lost two and drawn two of the seven encounters between the teams so far. Coyle will be keen on improving on that record with another win on Thursday.

"We approach this game as we do in the other games. We want to win and we certainly want to replicate the performance we showed against Mumbai City FC, and to do that we have to be at our very best. The boys have worked hard, and came very close to reaching the semis. We want to finish on a strong note,” Coyle said ahead of the game.

Bengaluru FC, on the other hand, won’t make it easy for Jamshedpur FC and will aim to finish as high up the table as they can. Currently seventh in the standings with 22 points, a win for the Blues will see them leapfrog Coyle’s men in the standings and end an otherwise underwhelming campaign on a positive note. They have struggled for consistency this season and have failed to produce their best at both ends of the pitch.

Going forward, they’ll be pinning their hopes on Cleiton Silva and Sunil Chhetri like they have done for most of the campaign. Cleiton has been one of their most influential players in attack with seven goals and four assists to show for his efforts. Chhetri, meanwhile, has been as effective as always for the Blues and has notched up seven goals as well as two assists. The attacking duo of Cleiton and Chhetri will most likely be Bengaluru FC’s biggest threats against Jamshedpur FC and will have to be marked tightly.

“We had two sessions, players looked normal, they did their best in training. They are enjoying the sessions. The only thing is there is not much pressure now. Before the last match, we had this thing that we need to go out there and win. That’s not there anymore.  We just want to go out there and finish it in a nice way,” Bengaluru FC interim head coach Naushad Moosa said ahead of the game.

Squads:

Jamshedpur FC

Goalkeepers: Pawan Kumar, Niraj Kumar, TP Rehenesh, Raj Mahato, Vishal Yadav

Defenders: Narender Gahlot, Joyner Lourenco, Ricky Lallawmawma, Sandip Mandi, Laldinliana Renthlei, Karan Amin, Peter Hartley, Stephen Eze, Subhash Barua, Manash Protim Gogoi, Boris Singh

Midfielders: Aitor Monroy, Alexandre Lima, Isaac Vanmalsawma, Mohammad Mobashir, Jitendra Singh, Gaurab, Manisana Singh, Harsha Parui, Gorachand Mamdi, Billu Teli, Seiminlen Doungel

Forwards: Nerijus Valskis, William Lalnunfela, Nicholas Fitzgerald, David Grande, Sapam Kennedy, Bhupender Singh, Aniket Jadhav, Farukh Choudhary

Bengaluru FC

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lalthuammawia Ralte, Lara Sharma, Sharon

Defenders: Juanan, Rahul Bheke, Francisco Gonzalez, Ajith Kumar, Joe Zoherliana, Biswa Darjee, Namgyal Bhutia, Parag Srivas, Pratik Chaudhari, Wungngayam Muirang

Midfielders: Dimas Delgado, Erik Paartalu, Suresh Wangjam, Thoi Singh, Emanuel Lalchhanchhuaha, Amay Morajkar, Harmanjot Khabra, Cleiton Silva, Xisco Hernandez

Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Kristian Opseth, Ashique Kuruniyan, Udanta Singh, Edmund Lalrindika, Leon Augustin, Semboi Haokip, Naorem Singh

Live Broadcast Schedule:

Hero ISL 2020-21 Match 106: Jamshedpur FC vs Bengaluru FC

Date: February 25 (Thursday)

Time: 7:30 PM onwards

Channels: Star Sports Network

Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar and Jio TV