In need of a win to get their season back on track, Hyderabad FC take on Chennaiyin FC in Match 47 of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim on Monday. The Marina Machans held ATK Mohun Bagan to a goalless draw in their last match while Hyderabad FC have lost three straight games with the 2-1 loss against FC Goa being their latest.

Chennaiyin have scored only seven goals in eight matches, but have created a formidable 93 chances, joint most by a team this season. The Marina Machans also have the most shots per match by a team (14.6), having attempted 117 shots. Of these, 38 were on target and 70 shots were attempted from inside the box.

But their goal conversion rate of 5.98 shows a lack of clinical finishing. This season, Chennaiyin have failed to score in four matches. “We are working on it, especially with players who have scored goals or taken the shots, like [Lallianzuala] Chhangte or even Jakub Sylvestr. Hopefully, we can create the same number of chances and score even more goals than until now. I think, in football, it's more difficult to create chances than to score. I want to play in the same way that we have until now and I am really confident. I know the boys will score [more] goals,” said Chennai head coach Csaba Laszlo ahead of the game.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad’s defence has been leaky in recent matches. A few individual defensive errors have cost Hyderabad dearly during their run of three consecutive losses. Although a solid unit which have conceded just 67 shots, the lowest in the league, they have conceded 10 goals due to defensive errors. After conceding just four goals in their first five matches, they have conceded two goals each in their last three matches.

However, their form in the second halves of games will be a boost for Manuel Marquez and Chennaiyin will need to get an early advantage to take control of the match. Hyderabad have scored six of their seven goals so far in the second half. They have also taken the second highest number of shots (72) for a team in the second half this season, out of which though only 19 have been on target. Meanwhile, Chennaiyin have scored just twice in the second half in the ongoing campaign. Hyderabad themselves have conceded 70% of their goals in the second half of games.

"They are a very dangerous team with a lot of good players. I was very impressed with their performance in the first half against Goa. They are dangerous in set-pieces because they have very good players, not only with tall players like Enes Sipovic and Eli Sabia but also with players like Jakub Sylvestr, Rahim Ali and Deepak Tangri in the box. Anirudh Thapa is another good player for set-pieces. I think that their coach is very brave when they play their games. I think Chennaiyin and Hyderabad deserve more points than we have on the table," said Hyderabad head coach Marquez ahead of the game.

Meanwhile, Chennaiyin have scored just twice in the second half in the ongoing campaign. Hyderabad themselves have conceded 70% of their goals in the second half of games. The battle will be largely fought between Chennaiyin’s attack and Hyderabad’s defence and the match of the result hinges on who comes out on top.

Squads:

Chennaiyin FC

Goalkeepers: Revanth BY, Vishal Kaith, Karanjit Singh, Samik Mitra

Defenders: Lalchhuanmawia Fanai, Enes Sipovic, Reagan Singh, Eli Sabia, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Remi, Balaji Ganesan, Aqib Nawab, Deepak Tangri

Midfielders: Fatkhulo Fatkhuloev, Thoi Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Memo Moura, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Rafael Crivellaro, Abhijit Sarkar, Pandiyan Sinivasan, Germanpreet Singh, Dhanpal Ganesh, Edwin Vanspaul

Forwards: Jakub Sylvestr, Aman Chetri, Rahim Ali, Esmael Goncalves

Hyderabad FC

Goalkeepers: Lalbiakhlua Jongte, Laxmikant Kattimani, Manas Dubey, Subrata Paul

Defenders: Akash Mishra, Asish Rai, Chinglensana Singh, Dimple Bhagat, Kynsailang Khongsit, Nikhil Prabhu, Odei Onaindia, Sahil Panwar

Midfielders: Abhishek Halder, Adil Khan, Sahil Tavora, Halicharan Narzary, Hitesh Sharma, Joao Victor, Laldanmawia Ralte, Lluis Sastre, Mark Zothanpuia, Mohammed Yasir, Nikhil Poojary, Souvik Chakrabarti, Sweden Fernandes

Forwards: Aridane Santana, Fran Sandaza, Ishan Dey, Joel Chianese, Lalawmpuia, Liston Colaco, Rohit Danu

Live Broadcast Schedule:

Hero ISL 2020-21 Match 47: Chennaiyin FC vs Hyderabad FC

Date: January 4 (Monday)

Time: 7:30 PM onwards

Channels: Star Sports Network

Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar and Jio TV