Jamshedpur FC will need to be in their top form when they take on ATK Mohun Bagan in Match 20 of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Monday. Both sides have had sort of contrasting fortunes this season, with ATK Mohun Bagan having won all their three matches so far, while Jamshedpur are yet to register a win in Hero ISL 2020-21.

What’s more alarming is that Owen Coyle’s men are on a winless run of nine matches in the Hero ISL. Coyle’s side have also been unable to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 16 matches, and that means they face an uphill task against against the strike force of the Mariners.

Most of Jamshedpur’s problems lie in their defending. Manned by Stephen Eze and Peter Hartley, Coyle’s men have allowed a league-high 17 shots on target this season. Another important reason behind the underwhelming performances of Jamshedpur is their inability to take control of the middle of the park. The side have a passing accuracy of 60.93, the lowest in the league this season.

However, with four goals in three matches, the Jamshedpur-based outfit appears to have a strong attacking unit, which will pose a threat to ATK Mohun Bagan’s solid defence. Nerijus Valskis has continued his run from last season, with three goals in three matches for Jamshedpur, and will hope for better deliveries from the wings.

"Every game is a challenge. ATK Mohun Bagan have started well and achieved some good results but they have all been very close games. We're looking forward to the game against a good opposition and a good team and good coach. We need to convert the draws into wins and get the three points," Coyle said in the pre-match press conference.

In some good news for Jamshedpur, goalkeeper TP Rehenesh will return to the starting XI after serving a one-match ban.

Valskis’ counterpart for ATK Mohun Bagan, Roy Krishna will also be keen on increasing his goal tally for the season after scoring a late winner for his side against Odisha FC. With four goals in three matches and three clean sheets, ATK Mohun Bagan will hope to take advantage of Jamshedpur’s weakness in defence.   

Antonio Lopez Habas’ men, however, have only scored in the second halves of their matches so far, and they can’t always bank on second-half performances. The Mariners’ three-man defence will need to be wary of Jamshedpur’s wingers. Prabir Das and Subhasish Bose can also expect to be more occupied defensively against the likes of Jackichand Singh and Laldinliana Renthlei.

With two draws and a loss in their first three games, Jamshedpur FC will have to work extremely hard to break ATK Mohun Bagan’s counter or breach their defence. But given Chennaiyin’s turnaround under Coyle last season, it would be totally unwise to write off Jamshedpur.

"Jamshedpur FC will be a difficult team for us because they have to win and they have that pressure. All teams have a similar pressure this season. They have reinforced their squads with good players and it will be very difficult to win. It will be a difficult match because I know Owen well," said Habas 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

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

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

ATK Mohun Bagan

Goalkeepers: Arindam Bhattacharja, Dheeraj Singh, Avilash Paul, Arsh Shaikh, Aryan Niraj Lamba

Defenders: Tiri, Pritam Kotal, Prabir Das, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose, Sumit Rathi

Midfielders: Pronay Halder, Bradden Inman, Javier Hernandez, Edu Garcia, Carl McHugh, Glan Martins, Jayesh Rane, Michael Soosairaj, Boris Singh, Regin Michael, Sahil Sheikh, N Engson Singh

Forwards: David Williams, Roy Krishna, Manvir Singh, Md. Fardin Ali Molla

Live Broadcast Schedule:

Hero ISL 2020-21 Match 20: Jamshedpur FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan

Date: December 7 (Monday)

Time: 7:30 PM onwards

Channels: Star Sports Network

Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar and Jio TV