With back-to-back wins under their belt, a confident ATK side will play host to Jamshedpur FC, who are unbeaten in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20, at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Saturday. The match promises to be an intriguing affair with both sides seemingly in form and the east Indian rivalry between the two coming into play.

ATK

After a disappointing start to their Hero ISL 2019-20 campaign with a loss to Kerala Blasters FC, ATK bounced back in style with a dominating 5-0 display at home against Hyderabad FC, followed by a hard-fought one-goal away win over Chennaiyin FC last week. The latter, in particular, was a hard-earned win with Antonio Lopez Habas' men needing to dig deep to protect their lead throughout the second half.

The fact that almost all the forward players in the team - David Williams, Roy Krishna and Edu Garcia - have been amongst the goals will be a big boost for Habas. Williams, in particular, has been impressive and already has three goals and an assist to his name. There have also been some encouraging signs from the Indian players with the likes of Jayesh Rane, Prabir Das and Michael Soosairaj putting in impressive shifts in the last two outings.

Despite back-to-back clean sheets, however, the ATK defence did look shaky in the Chennaiyin match. With John Johnson yet to get his first start of the season, Habas does have the option to try out a few new permutations and combinations at the back.

Jamshedpur FC

With their first three matches of the season at home, Jamshedpur FC are yet to face defeat, having won two and drawn their last match against reigning champions Bengaluru FC. The ATK contest, however, is set to pose a fresh challenge for Antonio Iriondo's men, considering it will be their first foray away from home this season.

So far, Jamshedpur have looked a well-balanced outfit. Sergio Castel, Piti and Farukh Choudhary have been the flag bearers for the side going forward and will look to carry their momentum into the ATK match. Castel and Farukh have so far been a handful for all defences they have come up against and both have already registered their names on the scoresheet.

At the back, Tiri, Memo and co. have looked solid for most parts but did struggle to cope against Bengaluru in what was a very open and free-flowing match. Their drawbacks, however, were covered up by a sensational Subrata Paul in goal who put in a sensational display against the Blues to keep the contest goalless. Up against a very potent ATK forward line at home, Subrata, Tiri and the Jamshedpur backline can expect another busy day in office.

Probable line-ups:

ATK: Arindam Bhattacharja (GK), Pritam Kotal, Carl McHugh, Agustin Iniguez, Prabir Das, Pronay Halder, Jayesh Rane, Javier Hernandez, Michael Soosairaj, David Williams, Roy Krishna

Jamshedpur FC: Subrata Paul (GK), Tiri, Joyner Lourenco, Memo, Keegan Pereira, Aniket Jadhav, Noe Acosta, Robin Gurung, Farukh Choudhary, Piti, Sergio Castel

Did you know?

  • ATK have scored 7 goals in the opening 3 matches this season, which is a club record.
  • This is Jamshedpur FC’s best ever start to a Hero ISL campaign. (7 points from 3 matches).
  • Only six goals have been scored by these two teams in 4 matches so far between them.

Fan Speak:

Which head coach will come out on top in the tactical battle?

  • Antonio Lopez Habas
  • Antonio Iriondo

Leave your choice in the comments below:

Live broadcast schedule:

Hero ISL 2019-20 Match 19: ATK vs Jamshedpur FC

Time: 7:30 PM onwards, November 9th

Channels: Star Sports Network

Streaming: Hotstar and Jio TV