Preview: Bengaluru FC, Odisha FC desperate to get back to winning ways
Bengaluru FC and Odisha FC will look to end their winless run when they face off at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday.

Bengaluru FC will host Odisha FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 on January 22, Wednesday, at 7:30 pm IST. The Kalinga Warriors are currently seventh on the table with 21 points from 16 games, while the Blues sit third with 28 points from as many matches as the Sergio Lobera-coached team. Odisha FC have won once and drawn twice in their last five games and will eye registering their first league double over Bengaluru FC, following their 4-2 victory in the reverse fixture on December 1, 2024.
Bengaluru FC, on the other hand, have struggled recently, losing their last home game 0-1 to Mohammedan SC on January 11, 2025, followed by a 1-1 draw to Hyderabad FC on the road. A loss in this match would mark their first back-to-back home defeats in over two years.
The Blues will look to bounce back and stay in the hunt for the first spot, though they now trail the top-placed Mohun Bagan Super Giant (36) by eight points (28), slightly undoing their impressive run in the earlier parts of the season. In their last five games, the Gerard Zaragoza-coached team have faced two defeats, as many draws, and a solitary victory, which has seen FC Goa beat them to the second spot, as the Gaurs are currently holding 30 points.
Bengaluru FC have scored thrice and conceded four times in their previous three encounters, where they have picked only a single point. It’s showing that they need to resurrect their organisations and setup on both ends of the field, especially against the league’s joint top-scorers Odisha FC, who have netted 31 times, with Diego Mauricio (7), Jerry Mawihmingthanga (4), and Mourtada Fall (4) leading the endeavours for them.
Odisha FC's Goal Run
* Scoring Streak: Odisha FC have scored exactly two goals in each of their last three ISL games. Another multi-goal performance would see them equal their longest streak of such games in the competition (four games between December 2019 and January 2020). Unfortunately for them, their defensive drawbacks mean that they have given away nine goals in this time period and won a single point.
* Close Range Operators: Odisha FC have scored 96.8% of their goals this season (30 out of 31) from inside the box. Bengaluru FC could consider strengthening their defensive unit within the 18-yard area to practically outnumber Odisha FC in that zone and restrict their ability to operate freely and find the back of the net.
Bengaluru FC's Defensive Troubles
* Defensive Rejig Needed? The Blues have conceded in each of their last 11 ISL matches. Failure to keep a clean sheet in this game would set a new record for their longest streak without a clean sheet in the competition. Still, their terrific stretch of play earlier on in the season means that they have kept the third-most clean sheets (5) in the league thus far.
* Offensive Efficiency: Despite their defensive concerns, Bengaluru FC have been efficient in attack, scoring 29 goals from an expected goals (xG) tally of 17.15, with an xG differential of +11.85, the highest in the league. Sunil Chhetri tops the leaderboard for them with 10 goals, as Ryan Williams and Edgar Mendez have netted five and four times respectively.
Head-to-Head
The two teams have faced each other 11 times in the ISL. Bengaluru FC have won five games, whereas Odisha FC have emerged victorious on four occasions. Two encounters have produced draws.
Coaches Corner
“We want to take three points”
Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza expressed hope that his team will recover their form on their home turf.
“We are now going to play at home with our supporters. We lost our last game here but we haven’t lost too many games here. With our mentality we want to take the three points,” he said.
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“We need to find balance between attack and defence”
Odisha FC head coach Sergio Lobera said that his team needs to find a fine balance in their tasks on both ends of the field.
“Sometimes, we need to be more clinical in the last third. However, my concern right now is not scoring goals, but instead finding balance between attack and defence,” he said.
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Key Players & Milestones
* Odisha FC’s Diego Mauricio, who has four goals in this fixture, is looking to end his six-game goal drought. The Kalinga Warriors will bank on him to bounce back to form as the season enters its business end.
* Bengaluru FC’s Sunil Chhetri has also netted four goals in this fixture and has been in fine form, scoring five goals in his last six games. Chhetri, 40, is one goal contribution away from levelling Roy Krishna's record of 84 of them in ISL history.
* Odisha FC’s Ahmed Jahouh needs one more assist to become only the second player to register 30 assists in ISL history. However, he has gone four games without an assist, having made four of them along with a goal to his name in 2024-25.
Naorem Roshan Singh (₹4.8cr)
The Bengaluru FC star has earned the second-most ISL fantasy points (79) in his team this season
Mourtada Fall (₹5.9cr)
The Odisha FC player has bagged the most ISL fantasy points (95) in his team this season
The Indian Super League will be streamed live on JioCinema (English, Hindi, Bengali, and Malayalam) and telecast live on Sports 18 – 3 (English, Hindi, Bengali, and Malayalam), Asianet Plus (Malayalam). Additionally, select ISL matches will be telecast live on Sports 18 – 1, Sports 18 – 2, Sports 18 – Khel, and Star Sports 3.