Twenty-one matches ago in the 2015 Hero Indian Super League, FC Goa played host to Chennaiyin FC and got drubbed 4-0 at Fatorda’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Now as the Super Machans get ready to host the Gaurs on Thursday, Zico and his men will be looking to leave the bitter defeat behind with a win.

Both teams will enter the Chennai stadium on the back of a draw from their last matches. Chennai drew with Kerala Blasters FC while Goa shared the points with FC Pune City.

Chennaiyin FC so far: L-L-W-W-L-W-D

FC Goa so far: W-D-L-W-W-L-D

Head-to-Head: Following the win earlier in the season, Chennai now lead 2-1. Last season, both the teams ended up winning their away matches. Chennai won 2-1 before Goa returned the favour with a 3-1 scoreline.

Sena Ralte v Thonghoksiem Haokip

The Mizoramese stopper is one of head coach Marco Materazzi’s key figures in the team’s journey to the end. Ralte’s potency as a left-back will be important to how Chennai fare on Thursday.

Ralte is likely to be troubled by Haokip who was unfortunate to not score against Pune in the last match. Haokip is energetic and poses a big threat to the Super Machans.

Thoi Singh v Pronay Halder

He may have carved a niche for himself on the Chennai right flank but Thoi Singh does not restrict himself to winger duties. His constant coverage of the outfield was what led to his receiving the Amul Fittest Player of the Match Award in the South Indian derby at Kochi.

Amongst Thoi’s many duties, one would be to keep the central midfielders of the rival team under the pump. However, Pronay Halder, defensive midfielder for FC Goa and the Indian national team, will surely want to prove his mettle against Thoi before he leaves for the upcoming 2018 World Cup Qualifying match.

Jeje Lalpekhlua v Lucio

Jeje will also be away for national duty next week and he too will be looking to deliver a solid performance. This season’s first Indian goal-scorer will have to scissor past the likes of Gregory Arnolin and Lucio to rise further up the goalscorers’ table.

The Gaurs’ marquee signing this year, Lucio has diligently served coach Zico in central defence and beyond. He looked good in the last game and Goa fans will surely be looking forward to witnessing another inspiring performance from the legendary Brazilian.

Chennai will have the advantage of home support and star striker Stiven Mendoza, who scored a hat-trick the last time these two teams met, must be itching to become the undisputed owner of the Golden Boot armband. The Colombian, who has already scored six, needs just one goal to do that.

Zico’s men haven’t seen a win in their last two matches and with the league becoming tougher by the day, they may not mind leaving Chennai with an away point.

Quotes:

For our style of playing and our formation, we have to decide between Elano and Bruno but still I have great consideration for Bruno. He is a great professional: Chennaiyin FC head coach Marco Materazzi

We came here looking for three points because it doesn’t matter if we just beat Chennai and lose other matches. There is no point in that: FC Goa head coach Zico

Squads:

Chennaiyin FC: Karanjit Singh, Nidhin Lal, Apoula Edel Bete, Éder Monteiro Fernandes, Justin Stephen, Bernard Mendy, Abhishek Das, Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte, L. Dhanachandra Singh, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Mailson Alves, Alessandro Potenza, Dhanpal Ganesh, Elano Blumer (marquee player), Godwin Franco, Thoi Singh, Harmanjot Khabra, Raphael Augusto, Bruno Augusto Pelissari de Lima, Zakeer Mundampara, Manuele Blasi, Fikru Teferra Lamessa, Jayesh Rane, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Balwant Singh, John Stiven Mendoza Valencia

FC Goa: Elinton Sanchotene Andrade, Luis Barreto, Laxmikant Kattimani, Lucimar Da Silva Ferreira [Lucio] [marquee], Gregory Arnolin, Luciano Sobrosa, Keenan Almeida, Nicolau Colaco, Raju Gaekwad, Debabrata Roy, Narayan Das, Joffre Mateu Gonzalez, Leonardo da Silva Moura [Leo Moura], Jonatan Lucca, Denson Devdas, Pronay Halder, Bikramjit Singh, Mandar Rao Dessai, Romeo Fernandes, Reinaldo Da Cruz Oliveira, Rafael Coelho, Darryl Duffy, Thongkoisep Haokip, Victorino Fernandes, Joaquim Abranches, CS Sabeeth.