FC Pune City will be gunning for their first home win of the 2016 Hero Indian Super League when they host high-flying reigning champions Chennaiyin FC at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Balewadi on Sunday. Pune’s only win this season came against FC Goa away at Fatorda. Their three matches at home this year have ended in two 1-0 losses to Mumbai City FC and NorthEast United FC and a 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters FC. The Stallions will also be looking for their first-ever win against the Super Machans on Sunday as Antonio Habas braces himself for his first appearance in the dugout for Pune. Chennai, on the other hand, have started looking more like the side that lifted the title last season. After a slow start with a 2-2 draw to Atlético de Kolkata and 3-1 loss to Delhi Dynamos FC, Marco Materazzi’s men registered back-to back wins against Goa (2-0) and NorthEast (1-0) to get their title defence back on track.

Head-to-head: Chennai beat Pune 3-1 at home and drew 1-1 away in Hero ISL 2014. The Champions also beat them 2-1 at home and 1-0 away last year.

Form guide:

FC Pune City: L-W-L-D

Chennaiyin FC: D-L-W-W

Dharmaraj Ravanan vs Davide Succi

Dharmaraj Ravanan has not looked out of place in his three starts for the Stallions this year and he seems to be cementing his place in Pune’s backline with every passing game. The 29-year-old has looked calm in possession and distributed the ball out of the back in impressive fashion. Reliable in a tackle and formidable in the air, Ravanan will be looking to minimise the space against Chennai’s attackers.

Davide Succi burst into life against NorthEast in Chennai’s last game with a devastating volley to give us a glimpse into what the Italian attacker is capable of. The 35-year-old forward had been threatening for a while for the Super Machans and was finally rewarded for his enterprise with a goal of the season contender. With a minimum of another 10 games left this season, Succi is surely not done with his collection in the highlight reel yet.

Mohamed Sissoko vs Siam Hanghal

Mohamed Sissoko stepped up when his side needed him the most to rescue a hard-earned point for the Stallions against Kerala. Pune’s marquee player is a towering presence at the centre of the park for the orange army and has been seen controlling and cajoling the midfield with his vision and passing range. Sissoko’s influence will need to be restricted if Chennai want a positive result on Sunday.

Siam Hanghal seems to be settling into life with Chennaiyin after marking his first start for the Super Machans with an assist against NorthEast. The 23-year-old will be hoping it’s the start of things to come as he looks to make his way into Materazzi’s plans as the season develops. Capable of chipping in with a goal from midfield every now and again, more can be expected of Hanghal before the end of the season.

Dramane Traore vs Bernard Mendy

Dramane did everything but score in Pune’s last match against the Blasters. The Malian forward posed a constant threat to the men in yellow in his first start for the Stallions. Traore had four shots at goal and even put the ball into the back of the net only for the assistant referee to raise his flag for offside. Going by his performance from the last game, it’s just a matter of time before Traore scores his first goal for the orange army.

Bernard Mendy made a winning return to Chennai’s backline in Guwahati after helping the defending champions to their second successive win as well as clean sheet of the season. The robust French defender brings a commanding presence in the box for Chennaiyin and can make his presence felt in the opposition’s box as well if his three goals in his last two seasons with the Super Machans are anything to go by.

Squads:

FC Pune City: Edel Bete, Arindam Bhattacharya, Vishal Kaith, Zodingliana Ralte, Vishal Kaith, Rahul Bheke, Yumnam Raju, Narayan Das, Augustine Fernandes, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Eduardo Ferreira, Gouramangi Singh, Arata Izumi, Jonathan Lucca, Francis Fernandes, Bruno Arias, Josep María Comadevall Crous (Pitu), Lenny Rodrigues, Manish Maithani, Momar Ndoye, Sanju Pradhan, Anibal Zurdo Rodriguez, Gustavo Oberman, Jesus Rodriguez Tato

Chennaiyin FC: Karanjit Singh, Pawan Kumar, Duwayne Kerr, Bernard Mendy, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Nallappan Mohanraj, Eli Sabia, Eder Monterio, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Abhishek Das, John Arne Riise, Baljit Sahni, Hans Mulder, Manuele Blasi, Thoi Singh, Raphael Augusto, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Dhanpal Ganesh, Davide Succi, Maurizio Peluso, Bedashwor Singh, Uttam Rai, Jeje Lalpekhlua