Hyderabad FC will want to enhance their top four credentials in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 with a win over Chennaiyin FC at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Sunday. Manuel Marquez’s men registered an emphatic 4-1 win over the Marina Machans earlier in the campaign and will be keen to produce a similar performance against them during the second encounter of the season between the clubs.

The Telangana-based club are on a six-match unbeaten run but need to start converting draws into wins soon if they want to secure a semi-final berth. They have drawn each of their last four matches and will be eager to do the double over Chennaiyin by getting a win under their belt. As demonstrated in their last encounter, Hyderabad have plenty of sources for goal-scoring.

The likes of Aridane Santana, Liston Colaco, Fran Sandaza, Halicharan Narzary and Joel Chianese have all shone for them over the course of the campaign. They will continue to be influential figures in the final third for the rest of the season but it’s their defence that will be hoping to be more solid. Hyderabad have conceded 16 goals so far and although Asish Rai, Akash Mishra, Chinglensana Singh, Odei Onaindia all have had their moments, they need to be more consistent and solid at the back for their team’s sake.

"Maybe they will try to take revenge. We remember the first game but it's not the same. All the games are very different. The only thing is they had six days to rest and we had less than three but this is the schedule and we have to play. It won't be an excuse if we lose this game," said Marquez ahead of the game.

Chennaiyin, on the other hand, haven’t enjoyed a win in their last three games and will head into the clash against Hyderabad on the back of a draw against Mumbai City FC. The two-time champions got the better of Hyderabad in both clashes last season and will have the added incentive of going level on points in the standings with the Telangana-based club with a win on Sunday.

The Marina Machans though need to get sharper in front of goal. They’ve netted just 11 goals so far – the lowest in the league this season – and need their forwards and attacking players to step up. Esmael Goncalves is their leading goal-scorer with four goals but he needs more support from the rest of his teammates to make their presence felt in the opposition box.

Defensively, they’ve conceded 14 goals and 10 of those have come in the second half. Chennaiyin will be without Enes Sipovic at the back due to a one-match suspension but should have enough cover to cope against Hyderabad.

“I think every single game in the ISL has been competitive. Every single team has a chance to be in the top four and everybody feels the pressure. For us against Hyderabad, it won't be a simple game. We have to do a lot for this. At the end of the day, the players who are on the pitch have to show desire. If you see the target, you have to go for it,” said Chennaiyin head coach Csaba Laszlo ahead of the game.

Squads:

Hyderabad FC

Goalkeepers: Lalbiakhlua Jongte, Laxmikant Kattimani, Manas Dubey, Sankar Roy

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

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

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

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, Abhijit Sarkar, Pandiyan Sinivasan, Germanpreet Singh, Dhanpal Ganesh, Edwin Vanspaul, Manuel Lanzarote

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

Live Broadcast Schedule:

Hero ISL 2020-21 Match 77: Hyderabad FC vs Chennaiyin FC

Date: January 31 (Sunday)

Time: 5:00 PM onwards

Channels: Star Sports Network

Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar and Jio TV