Punjab FC and Mohammedan SC are squaring off at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 on December 6, Friday, at 7:30 pm IST with both teams hoping to further their respective objectives from the forthcoming fixture onwards.

Punjab FC are sixth on the table with 15 points thanks to five victories in eight encounters, whereas Mohammedan SC are placed 12th with a solitary win in nine matches – accumulating five points thus far. With the former playing at home, Punjab FC will be eager to carry forward the stunning momentum that they garnered from their 3-0 win away against Mumbai City FC last month.

Punjab FC have shown impressive signs off late, winning twice in their previous five matches, and they will look to maximize their strengths playing at their bastion – hoping to keep back-to-back clean sheets for the first time in their two seasons into the ISL so far.

Punjab FC’s history against debutant teams

• Seeking Wins: Punjab FC have played 11 encounters facing an opponent for the first time in the ISL. However, they have not emerged triumphant in any of those fixtures, drawing five times and losing six matches. They will wish to snap this sequence against Mohammedan SC, who are still looking for performances that ensure full points on the field.
• Defensively Disciplined: Punjab FC have a unique record so far, having been only one of the two teams with Jamshedpur FC yet to concede a spot-kick in the current campaign. Contrastingly, Mohammedan SC have missed two penalties thus far, missing enticing goal-scoring opportunities.

Mohammedan SC’s on-field tenacity

• Winning Possession: Mohammedan SC have won possession 47.4 times per game in ISL 2024-25, which is the highest such average amongst all teams. At the same time, they have lost possession the second-most times, i.e. 143.6, effectively eroding their efficiency in recovering the ball.
• Disparity in Goals: Mohammedan SC are yet to strike a balance in their goal-scoring endeavours, especially on the road. In their four matches in 2024-25, the team has ended up conceding six goals, thrice as much as they have netted, i.e. two.

Head-to-Head

This will be the first match between the two teams in the ISL.

Coaches Corner

“I care about winning tomorrow”

Punjab FC head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis is focusing on the task in his hands against Mohammedan SC at the moment and refraining from looking too far ahead to simplify the processes for his team.

“I am not looking at the matches for the rest of the month. I am being honest. I care about winning tomorrow and then we will adjust ourselves for the coming games,” Dilmperis said.

“We work on scoring goals in every practice session”

Mohammedan SC head coach Andrey Chernyshov reflected on his team’s need for greater efficiency upfront but took solace in the fact that they are creating reasonable goal-scoring chances.

“It’s a big problem for us that we have so many chances but we cannot score. It’s a problem. We work on it in every practice, showing them videos, but as I said before, it’s good that we have chances, we have three or four chances every game, so we need to be better in these situations,” Chernyshov said.

Key Players & Milestones

• Punjab FC’s Ezequiel Vidal has the highest expected assists (xA) value (1.84) without an assist in the current ISL season. He has also created 17 chances, the most by any player yet to provide an assist.
• Mohammedan SC’s Franca leads the league with 45 touches in the opposition's box but is yet to score a goal from inside the box this season.
• Punjab FC’s Luka Majcen contributed a goal and an assist in the 3-0 win against Mumbai City FC. With one more goal contribution, Majcen (12 goals & 4 assists) will surpass Madih Talal (6 goals & 10 assists) as their all-time leading goal contributor in the competition.
• Mohammedan SC’s Zodingliana Ralte has blocked the most crosses (6) this season, while Nikhil Prabhu and Ivan Novoselec (two each) lead Punjab FC in this stat.

ISL Fantasy

Ivan Novoselec (₹5.6cr)

He has earned the most ISL fantasy points (42) for his team this season

Mirjalol Kasimov (₹5.4cr)

Mirjalol Kasimov has bagged the highest ISL fantasy points (43) for Mohammedan SC in 2024-25

Indian Super League is being streamed live free on JioCinema (English, Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam) and telecast live on Sports 18 — 3 (English, Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam), Asianet Plus (Malayalam). Additionally Sports 18 — 1, Sports 18 — 2 and Sports 18 — Khel is also telecasting select ISL matches LIVE. Starting December 2024, Star Sports 3 will also telecast select ISL games.