Chennaiyin FC head coach Marco Materazzi insists his team’s two defeats against Atlético de Kolkata earlier in the second season of the Hero Indian Super League will have no bearing on the first leg of their semi-final in Pune on Saturday.

“Last year we won two games against Kerala [in the league stage]. But you all know what happened then [Chennaiyin lost to Kerala in the semis]. The semi-final is a different game. They’re a good team and have an excellent coach and have the right attitude but I think it will be a good game in spite of the result,” Materazzi told reporters on Friday.

The former Italy international also played down a suggestion that the Super Machans were at a disadvantage as they were going into the match without star players Elano and Mehrajuddin Wadoo, both suspended. “As you know Elano and Wadoo are crucial players but all my players have shown that they deserve to play the semi-finals. It is more about the group and the team than individual players,” he said.

Chennai will also miss the services of midfielder Raphael Augusto who has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to injury. “I think that he has been the best player in the league. So what I can say is that all the players of my team have good qualities and we will play compact. So even without him, we will play well in the midfield,” Materazzi spoke of the Brazilian player.

The match was moved to Pune at the last minute due to devastating floods in Chennai and Materazzi said the team will be all the more motivated to do well on that account. “It would have been great to play in front of our fans especially in this difficult time. They deserve this. But even if we are so far away, we will play for them. We will fight for our fans.”

The match will also see the face-off between the top two goal-scorers of the 2015 Hero ISL, Chennai’s Stiven Mendoza (11 goals) and Kolkata’s Iain Hume (10 goals). When asked if the outcome of the match will be heavily influenced by the performances of the two players, Materazzi replied in the negative. “I would rather say that it’s going to be Chennai vs Kolkata because speaking about Hume vs Mendoza is unfair to Borja [Fernandez] and Jeje who has scored five goals. And generally for all 22 players getting onto the pitch.”

Materazzi also spoke of his ATK counterpart Antonio Lopez Habas in glowing terms. “I have a great opinion of him from last year because when he’s on the bench, he fights, it’s like that he’s on the pitch. And when I shake hands with him before the game, I shake it with all my heart because I think so highly of him.”