ISL 2015: Three reasons why Chennaiyin will defeat Kerala today
The two teams met four times last season, including a thrilling semi-final, and although Chennaiyin won three of those meetings, Kerala won the match that mattered to reach the final. It should be back to winning ways for Chennaiyin against a struggling Kerala side languishing at the bottom, and the Men from Marina will be confident of snapping a win in this South derby.
Prediction
Kerala Blasters FC 1–3 Chennaiyin FC
1. Turmoil in Kerala
In what was the first managerial casualty in ISL, Peter Taylor departed from Kerala Blasters after suffering four defeats in a row. Former East Bengal manager Trevor Morgan has taken over as the caretaker manager, while the management looks for a replacement, and it is clear that all is not well at the Blasters' camp.
2. Mendoza and co against a porous Kerala defense
For a team that was frugal in giving away goals last season, Kerala have conceded eight goals in the last four matches. Chennaiyin, meanwhile, have scored eight in the same period with a red- hot Stiven Mendoza on six goals and at the top spot of the scoring chart with Sunil Chhetri. The pace of Mendoza and Jayesh Rane will be too much for the Kerala defense to handle, who conceded three goals against FC Pune City in their last game.
3. Elano to run rings around Mehtab Hossain
After a relatively slow start Brazilian midfielder Elano has found his stride and is pulling all the strings in the final third. The 34-year-old, top scorer in the ISL last season, is leading the assist chart this time with four to his credit. The 'false-nine' has been dropping deep to regularly exploit the space between the opponent's midfield and defense.
Kerala Blasters anchorman Mehtab Hossain will have the responsibility to negate Elano's impact, but the former Mohun Bagan midfielder has been in poor form this season. Elano has too much guile and skills for the 30-year-old to cope with.
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